| Gov. Kathy Hochul has ordered the Department of Health to declare Covid-19 a “highly contagious, communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to public health,” a necessary step in the implementation of a new workplace safety law.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the “HERO Act” in May. That requires businesses to have certain safeguards against communicable diseases.
But that requirement takes effect only after DOH issues a declaration like the one Hochul ordered on Monday. Legislators have spent months griping that the Cuomo administration was slow to do so.
“With surging variants continuing to wreak havoc, the NY HERO Act is more essential than ever,” Sen. Mike Gianaris (D-Queens) and Assemblywoman Karines Reyes (D-Bronx) wrote in a letter to Hochul in late August. “New York workers deserve a safe, healthy place to work and employers should know these rules are in place as soon as possible, so adequate planning can occur.”
Hochul signed her order as part of a Labor Day event in Buffalo on Monday.
“Back when [the HERO Act] was signed we all had this vision that the pandemic was behind us,” she said “That didn’t happen … If we want to get people back to work and get our kids back to schools, we need to have standards.”
Bill signings: Hochul also signed four bills into law, including one creating a demonstration program for speed cameras in highway work zones.
Here’s a list:
A3350A: Joyner — Relates to actions for non-payment of wages.
S4049: RAMOS — Relates to benefits of shared work programs.
S4682B: KENNEDY — Relates to establishing a demonstration program implementing speed violation monitoring systems in work zones by means of photo devices; repealer.
S6350A: BENJAMIN — Relates to wages and supplements for building service employees employed at certain properties held in the cooperative or condominium form of ownership receiving a tax abatement. |
