Some of the 2,000 correction officers fired in the wake of a three-week illegal strike in February and March could be heading back to work.

Not because Gov. Kathy Hochul or state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) Commissioner Dan Martuscello are having mercy on those who refused to return, but Martuscello told Spectrum News 1 that some could be offered their jobs back through a grievance process that was part of their collective bargaining agreement.

As first reported by the Watertown Daily Times, individual hearings have resulted in a limited number of employees reaching agreements. It’s estimated that 600 individuals have been a part of that process, though DOCCS did not specify how many were successful in their effort to return to work

Hochul’s office made it clear that this is no olive branch, not a beacon of impending absolution either.

“Governor Hochul has been clear that there must be strict consequences for individuals who repeatedly broke the law and refused to end the illegal strike,” a spokesperson said. “This Administration follows the law and will do so when grievances are filed, but the Governor’s commitment to reforming our correctional system is steadfast.”

That reform effort is expected to take an important next step on Wednesday when a joint public hearing will be held in Albany on safety in state correctional facilities.

State Assemblymember Erik Dilan, who is chair of the Corrections Committee in the Assembly, told Spectrum News 1 the hearing will ideally be a step toward a reform package that has been promised since the death of Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility late last year.

“To vet out some of those legislative ideas, perfect them, and make them better and hopefully move forward with a package at some point before the end of session,” he said.

That package could include expanding the size of the Commission on Correction, parole reforms — some of which have advanced through committees — and regulations for how the attorney general’s office handles investigations into state employees they may be representing elsewhere.

“We need to keep in mind that two people were murdered, that assaults happen, and assaults happen on all sides so we want to address that but we need to be mindful and respectful of what has happened recently,” he said.

State Sen. Rob Rolison, ranking member on the Senate Corrections Committee, stressed that while those two deaths must be addressed, the hearing must go further in addressing other safety concerns.

“The violence in general that’s going on in our facilities, that’s incarcerated on incarcerated, incarcerated on staff, that all needs to be examined, why it’s taking place,” he said.

Rolison has been an outspoken advocate of hiring back the fired officers, and said he has reached out to Martuscello about doing so. He said if you're going to talk about safety in correctional faciliites, the issues that led to the strike should be up for discussion.

He also argued that the governor should consider going beyond just those who are successful in their efforts to return through the grievance process and bring more fired COs back onboard.

“They walked out because of the safety concerns that we’re going to talk about at the hearing in some way shape or form, so to me it’s not just one area that needs to be addressed,” he said.

The hearing will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Legislative Office Building’s Hearing Room B at the Empire State Plaza in Albany.