New York HERO Act Requires Employers to Adopt an Airborne Infectious Disease Prevention Plan and Allow Employees to Form Workplace Safety Committees

On May 5, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the New York Health and Essential Rights Act, or HERO Act, into law. The law adds two new sections to the New York Labor Law (NYLL): (1) Section 218-b, which requires all private employers to adopt an airborne infectious disease prevention plan; and (2) Section 27-d, which requires all private employers with at least 10 employees to allow their employees to form workplace safety committees. These changes will impose significant new obligations on employers to maintain permanent workplace protections against airborne infectious diseases and grant employees unprecedented powers in overseeing and enforcing workplace safety. Employers should become familiar with the law’s requirements so that they are ready to comply with it when it takes effect.

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