Comply With the New York HERO Act Checklist
Authors: Brightmine Editorial Team
When to Use
The New York Health and Essential Rights Act (NY HERO Act or Act) requires all private employers with worksites in New York State to implement certain workplace health and safety measures to protect employees against exposure and disease during a future airborne infectious disease outbreak. Specifically, the NY HERO Act mandates that employers adopt an airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plan (the Plan) that includes protocols aimed at protecting against the spread of airborne infectious diseases in the workplace.
Under the Act, all New York employers must either:
- Adopt the applicable model plan(s) issued by the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL); or
- Develop and adopt alternative safety plan(s) that meet or exceed the model safety plans' requirements.
Within 30 days of adoption of their Plan, employers must provide their Plan to employees and post it in a visible and prominent location within each worksite.
The Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Standard (the Standard) issued by the NYS DOL states that employers only activate their plan when the New York State Commissioner of Health (the Commissioner) designates an airborne infectious agent or disease as a "highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health."
