NY's classification of COVID as airborne disease under HERO Act means workplace changes ahead

The new designation requires businesses with more than 10 workers to create a written plan to implement safety rules to address airborne infections such as offering free personal protective equipment and hygiene stations, having mask and social distancing plans and creating cleaning protocols.

News 12 Staff

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Sep 7, 2021, 9:51 PM

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Updated 1,225 days ago

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Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office has designated COVID-19 as an airborne infectious disease under the state’s Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act, just as some Long Islanders are heading back into the office.

Hochul says businesses, both big and small, need to come into compliance with the HERO Act now if they haven’t already.

New York HERO Act

“If we want to get people back to work and get our kids back in school, we need to have standards, not just in law, but are actually enforced,” Hochul says.

The new designation requires businesses with more than 10 workers to create a written plan to implement safety rules to address airborne infections such as offering free personal protective equipment and hygiene stations, having mask and social distancing plans and creating cleaning protocols.

Occupational medicine specialists like Dr. Jacqueline Moline says the HERO Act will take workplace safety beyond just slips and falls.

“I think the whole goal is to make the whole workplace safer for everything,” Moline says.

The act also creates big fines for non-compliance and allows workers to report companies without fear of retribution.

Jose Santiago, of Alcott HR, says the law is something that New York is going to take seriously, and enforcement can be expected as soon as possible.

Some, however, are not pleased with the HERO Act.

Greg Biryla, of the National Federation of Independent Business in New York, says it could be the “proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

Biryla sent a letter to Hochul, which was co-signed by the Long Island Association with the National Federation of Independent Business in New York with its concerns.

He says most small businesses don’t know about the HERO Act and worries struggling businesses could face unnecessary fines and lawsuits if not in compliance.