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.
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