Aspect of HERO Act Up for Renewal March 17th
On Sept. 6, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the designation of COVID-19 as an airborne infectious disease under the New York HERO Act. The first part of the HERO Act took effect on July 4, 2021 and requires private employers to adopt an airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plan. These plans must go into effect when an airborne infectious disease is designated by the New York State Commissioner of Health as a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health. This designation is currently in effect until March 17th, at which time the Commissioner of Health will determine if the designation continues or expires. LeadingAge NY will keep members informed of this development.
As a reminder, private employers that employ 10 or more employees are covered under the HERO Act. However, some aspects of the HERO Act did not apply to those that followed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), notably the aforementioned airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plan. The second part of the HERO Act, however, does not exempt those settings that followed the OSHA COVID-19 Healthcare ETS. This aspect of the law took effect on Nov. 1, 2021 and requires private employers with 10 or more employees to allow employees to establish and administer a joint labor management workplace safety committee at each worksite. Click here for more information.
Contact: Diane Darbyshire, ddarbyshire@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8828