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New York Hero Act Imposes Wide-Reaching Obligations on Employers

New York State passed the New York Health & Essential Rights Act (HERO) on May 5, 2021 and soon thereafter amended it on June 14, 2021.
August 10, 2021
New York Hero Act Imposes Wide-Reaching Obligations on Employers

New York Hero Act Imposes Wide-Reaching Obligations on Employers

New York State passed the New York Health & Essential Rights Act (HERO) on May 5, 2021 and soon thereafter amended it on June 14, 2021. The HERO Act requires employers in New York to do the following:

  • Adopt an airborne disease safety plan. The employer has 30 days to either adopt the State’s model or create its own plan. If the employer decides to create its own plan, it must allow employee participation in the creation of the plan, and if the employees are represented by a union, the employer must negotiate with the union over the creation of the plan. The plan must meet certain minimum criteria and be tailored to the hazards in the specific industry and work site. It must be posted in a prominent location in the workplace, and if the employer has an employee handbook, then the plan must also be included in the handbook. The employer has 30 days to distribute it to existing workforce upon adoption, must provide it upon initial hire of new employees, and has 15 days after reopening in the case of business closures to provide it to employees.
  • Starting November 1, 2021, employers must allow employees to form a joint-labor management committee with non-supervisory employees comprising at least two-thirds of its members. The committee must be co-chaired by one management representative and one non-supervisory employee representative, and it must meet at least once each calendar quarter to accomplish, among others, the following:
    • Raise health and safety concerns, complaints, and violations;
    • Adopt and review policies put in place to comply with workplace health and safety laws;
    • Participate in visits by government officials who are responsible for enforcing safety and health standards;
    • Review employer-filed workplace health and safety reports.here

The law allows for civil penalties, a private right of action, and attorney’s fees. Before bringing a civil action, an employee must give notice of the alleged violation to the employer to allow an opportunity to cure it and must wait 30 days after such notice before bringing a civil action, unless an employee alleges with particularity that the employer has demonstrated an unwillingness to cure a violation in bad faith. Civil action must be brought within six months from the date the employee had knowledge of the violation. No civil action may be brought if the employer corrects the alleged violation. The text of the law can be found 

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