The Commissioner of Health (the “Commissioner”) has extended the designation of COVID-19 as a highly contagious communicable disease under the HERO Act until October 31, 2021. The Commissioner will again review the level of transmission of COVID-19 in New York State on approximately October 31st and determine whether to continue this designation. As such, the airborne infectious disease policies required by the HERO Act remain implemented and in effect.
Read MoreAs our clients are aware, New York employers should have already implemented their Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan (the “Plan”) mandated under the HERO Act. Yesterday, the DOL revised the Model Plan on their website. The substantive revisions to the Model Plan concern two of the minimum controls: face coverings and physical distancing.
Read MoreYesterday afternoon, President Biden announced a six-prong COVID-19 Action Plan (the “Plan”). Under the Plan, all employers with 100 or more employees will be required to ensure that their workers are vaccinated or produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work. Workers in most healthcare settings that receive Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement and federal employees, including employees of contractors that do business with the federal government, also must receive the vaccine.
Read MoreOn Labor Day, Governor Hochul announced that the New York State Commissioner of Health has designated COVID-19 as a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health under the New York State HERO Act. As such, all New York State employers must implement the HERO Act plans which they adopted earlier this month.
Read MoreAs employers may recall, the New York City Council passed amendments to the New York City Fair Chance Act earlier this year. Those amendments took effect on July 29, 2021. The New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) issued a guidance document on July 15, 2021, interpreting the amendments, as well as an amended Fair Chance Act Notice that employers should use going forward when analyzing an individual’s criminal history. A brief summary of the guidance is below.
Read MoreAs addressed in our prior client alert, the NY HERO Act was signed by Governor Cuomo in May of 2021 and requires employers to create a written plan to prevent airborne infectious diseases in the workplace. This written plan must be utilized 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. On July 7, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published standards addressing the requirements imposed by the NY HERO Act, a general Model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan (the “Model Plan”), and industry-specific model plans. Employers must adopt the Model Plan or develop an alternative plan by August 6, 2021.
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