Members of our labor and employment team recently published a LawFlash discussing and analyzing the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (the HERO Act), which was signed into law on May 5, 2021 by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The HERO Act requires the New York State Department of Labor and New York State Department of Health to create industry-specific airborne infectious disease standards that must be used by all employers doing business within the State of New York.
The standards codify many of the requirements currently applicable to employers pursuant to Governor Cuomo’s COVID-19-related executive orders and New York Forward re-opening guidelines. The HERO Act also requires employers to permit their employees to form a “workforce safety committee” with the authority to review and police employer compliance with the new standards. The HERO Act covers all private-sector employers in New York State and may be of particular interest to our New York-based Health Law Scan readers.