Written prevention plan + safety committees at 10+ employees.
The NY Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act requires every NY employer to maintain a written airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plan. The plan is dormant (no active enforcement) since the COVID-19 designation ended March 2022, but the plan must still exist. Additionally, employers with 10+ employees must permit worker-led joint safety committees that meet quarterly and review workplace safety policies.
NY HERO Act Compliance
Maintains the written airborne disease prevention plan in dormant state. Supports worker-led safety committee establishment, quarterly meeting cadence, and policy review documentation.
What the rule does as standing infrastructure.
HERO Act is mostly dormant infrastructure that activates if the airborne disease designation returns. Safety committee component is active at 10+ employees.
The written plan is established at the employer level, posted in workplaces, and provided to new hires. In dormant state (current), no active enforcement of the prevention measures. If NYS Health Commissioner designates an airborne disease, the plan activates.
Employers with 10+ NY employees must permit a worker-led safety committee. Up to one-third of committee members can be management; rest must be non-supervisory workers. Committee meets at least quarterly.
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Plan exists. Committees meet. Both required even when dormant.
HERO has two distinct components: airborne disease plans (NYLL § 218-b) and safety committees (NYLL § 27-D). Plans are dormant since March 2022; committees are active continuously.
Plan must exist even when dormant
The airborne disease plan must be in writing, in each workplace, and available to all employees. NYSDOL provides industry-specific model plans. Even though COVID-19 was de-designated as a 'highly contagious communicable disease' on March 17, 2022, the plan must continue to exist in dormant form.
Plan activates by Commissioner designation
If the NYS Commissioner of Health designates a new airborne disease (including potentially future COVID resurgence or other respiratory illness), all employer plans activate. Activation requires implementation of prevention measures: PPE, distancing, cleaning, ventilation. Penalties for non-existent plans: $50/day per workplace + $1,000-$10,000 per violation of activated plan.
Teambridge maintains the dormant plan and supports safety committee operations.
HERO is mostly low-burden today, but the plan-existence requirement and committee operations both require persistent infrastructure.
Industry model plan adopted.
When an employer is configured for NY, the appropriate industry model plan (or custom plan) is established. Posted at each workplace. Provided to each new hire during onboarding.
Auto-activates on Commissioner designation.
If the NYS Health Commissioner designates an airborne disease, plans across the system activate. Implementation prompts surface for managers: PPE deployment, distancing, cleaning protocols, ventilation requirements.
Quarterly meeting cadence.
Employers with 10+ NY employees auto-prompted to establish committee. Worker selection process documented. Quarterly meetings calendared with agenda templates and meeting notes templates.
HERO complaints protected.
Worker complaints about HERO Act compliance (plan, committee, safety) are tagged as protected activity. Subsequent adverse actions (termination, hour reduction, scheduling changes) within close proximity surface as Critical alerts requiring documented non-retaliatory rationale.
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