New amendments clarify timing, impact of New York HERO Act regulations

As previously reported, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (HERO Act) on May 5. The law requires the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) to establish workplace health and safety standards for particular private-sector industries. Employers may either adopt the NYSDOL’s model standard for their industry or create their own airborne infectious disease health and safety standards that meet or exceed the model standards. Originally, the NYSDOL was required to publish the standards by June 4, but the law was unclear about the effect on employers if the deadline wasn’t met. On June 11, the governor signed amendments to the Act extending the deadline for the agency to publish the model standards to July 5. The NYSDOL finally released the standards on July 6.

Read on to understand the impact of the new amendments.

Updated implementation time lines

The HERO Act amendments now clarify employers will have:

• 30 days from the NYSDOL’s publication of model standards on July 6 to adopt an airborne infectious disease safety standard that meets or exceeds the model standard; and
• 60 days after the agency’s publication of the standards to provide their policy to employees.

New employees should receive the policy upon hire.

The amendments provide needed clarity to the original HERO Act, which left open the question of an employer’s obligations under the law if the NYSDOL didn’t publish model standards by the June 4 deadline. It’s now clear employers won’t face liability because of the agency’s inaction.