HERO Act Designation of COVID-19 Ends

The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) has announced that the designation declaring COVID-19 as a highly contagious communicable disease under the HERO Act has ended. Therefore, private sector employers are no longer required to implement their workforce safety plans. New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett’s previous extension of the designation expired Thursday, March 17th.

Even though COVID-19 is no longer a designated airborne infectious disease by the NYSDOH Commissioner, employers are still required to:

• Create an airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plan;
• Give a copy to employees within 30 days after creating one;
• Give a copy to any new employees when they are hired;
• Post the plan in each work site so employees can view it; and
• Update the plan as needed.

More information regarding an employer’s requirements can be found in this FAQ document from the NYSDOL.