On September 6, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul designated COVID-19 as an airborne infectious disease under the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (NY HERO Act). Through this new designation, all employers must implement workplace safety plans to prevent the spread of
COVID-19. The NY HERO Act—signed into law on May 5, 2021—mandated extensive new workplace health and safety protections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the following were created:
● Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Standard;
● Model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan; and
● Various industry-specific model plans (scroll to bottom of page) for airborne infectious disease prevention.
Employers can adopt the state-provided model safety plan or develop their own so long as it complies with the HERO Act standards
