Overview
New York State has enacted various laws and regulations to protect workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These include:
- The NYS Health and Essential Rights Act (NY HERO ACT), which protects private sector employees against exposure and disease during a future airborne infectious disease outbreak.
- The Emergency Preparedness Law, which requires public employers to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a declared public health emergency involving a communicable disease.
- COVID-19 regulations, which require all employers to take various health and safety measures for the worksite. They include providing benefits – including sick leave, paid family leave, and disability benefits – to New York employees impacted by mandatory or precautionary orders of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19.
For more information about these laws and regulations please visit: Safety, Health, and Essential Rights Program
NYS HERO Act
The New York Health and Essential Rights Act (NY HERO Act) was signed into law on May 5, 2021. The law mandates extensive new workplace health and safety protections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the NY HERO Act is to protect employees against exposure and disease during a future airborne infectious disease outbreak.