New York Requires Employers to Implement Airborne Infection Diseases Exposure Prevention Plans Under the NY HERO Act

On May 5, 2021, New York enacted the New York Health and Essential Rights Act, or NY HERO Act (“the Act”), which is aimed at curbing the spread of airborne infectious diseases in the workplace.  Our coverage of the HERO Act details the requirements for creating a plan and making it available to employees, as well as the non-retaliation provisions of the Act. 

Employers were required to have a plan in place by August 6, but were not required to immediately activate those plans because, at the time, the Governor had lifted all COVID-19-related restrictions on New York businesses.  In response to the uptick in cases related to the “delta variant,” Governor Kathy Hochul announced on September 6 that the New York State Commissioner of Health had designated COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health.”

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