In accordance with the New York HERO Act signed into law this past May, the NYS Department of Labor has released Model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plans that employers must now adopt within 30 days. The plan must also be communicated to employees within 30 days of employer adoption.
Currently, while employers must adopt plans as required by the law, as of the date of this writing no designation has been made and plans are not required to be in effect.
The standard applies to only an airborne infectious agent or disease designated by the Commissioner of Health as a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health.
This standard does not apply to:
i. Employees or independent contractors of the state, any political subdivision of the state, a public authority,
or any other governmental agency or instrumentality.
ii. Any employee within the coverage of a temporary or permanent standard adopted by the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration setting forth applicable standards regarding COVID-19 and/or airborne
infectious agents and diseases; and
iii. Any seasonal or endemic infectious agent or disease, such as the seasonal flu, that has not been
designated by the Commissioner of Health as a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a
serious risk of harm to the public health.