NEW HERO ACT RULE AND HEARING
NEW HERO ACT RULE AND HEARING
First, as a reminder, New York State’s Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act became effective in May of last year. Its provisions regarding mandated Workplace Safety Plans were activated on September 6, 2021, when Governor Hochul announced the designation of COVID-19 as an “airborne infectious disease” by the State Health Commissioner.
This law applies to workforces of all sizes, and employees who feel that their employer is not complying with the law have the right to file a complaint with the NYS Department of Labor. There are model plans available on the Labor Department website if you are an Employer who has not yet prepared and distributed your plan.
The other part of the HERO Act involves the establishment of Workplace Safety Committees. This part of the law became effective November 1, 2021, however the State did not promulgate the Rules implementing it until December 22. A hearing on those proposed Rules is set for February 9, 2022 at 11 am. Comments can be submitted to the State Labor Department up to 5 days after that date.
The Rules set procedures and parameters for the establishment of Workplace Safety Committees at worksites with 10 or more employees. Members of the Committees must be given 2 paid hours per quarter to meet, plus 4 paid hours per year for training.
The Committees must be co-chaired by a non-supervisory employee as well as an Employer representative, but there must always be two non-supervisory personnel for each employer representative overall. There are caps on the numbers of members a Committee can have, which depends on the size of the workforce.
Amongst the obligations the law imposes on Employers, is to respond in writing to concerns raised by the Committee, and to provide policies and reports requested by the Committee. Employers must also notify the entire workforce of the Committee’s establishment within 5 days of the process being complete.
You can find the full text of the rule here:
https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2022/01/12-nycrr-part-850-dol-proposed-12.22.21.pdf
You can register for the hearing here:
