NYS DOL Releases Construction Airborne Infectious Disease Prevention Standard

Due to the recently enacted Hero Act, the New York State Department of Labor issued compliance standards that all employers must adhere to, relative to preventing airborne infectious diseases.

• Employers now have until August 6th to adopt their companies standards to have in place in case another health emergency is announced
• No employer is required to put a plan into effect absent such a designation by the Commissioner of Health. Currently there is no designation in effect
  • However, ABC encourages you to put your own internal team together and have policies and plans in place
• The standards go into effect when an airborne infectious disease is designated by the New York State Commissioner of Health as a highly contagious, communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health
• "Employee" is define as: any person providing labor or services for remuneration, for a private entity or business within the state, without regard to an individual’s immigration status, and shall include:
  • Part-time workers
  • Independent contractors
  • Domestic workers
  • Day laborers, and other temporary and seasonal workers