S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
980
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to requiring public employers
to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a declared state disas-
ter emergency involving a communicable disease; to amend the education
law, in relation to certain protocols for responding to a declared
state disaster emergency involving a communicable disease; and to
amend a chapter of the laws of 2020, amending the labor law relating
to requiring public employers to adopt a plan for operations in the
event of a declared public health emergency involving a communicable
disease; and amending the education law relating to certain protocols
for responding to a declared public health emergency involving a
communicable disease; and amending the education law relating to
certain protocols for responding to a declared public health emergency
involving a communicable disease, as proposed in legislative bills
numbers S.8617B and A.10832, in relation to requiring public employers
to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a declared state disas-
ter emergency involving a communicable disease
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 27-c of the labor law, as added by section 1 of a
chapter of the laws of 2020, amending the labor law relating to requir-
ing public employers to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a
declared public health emergency involving a communicable disease; and
amending the education law relating to certain protocols for responding
to a declared public health emergency involving a communicable disease,
as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 8617B and A. 10832, is
amended to read as follows:
§ 27-c. [Duty] PREPARATION of public employers [to develop operation
plans in the event of certain declared public health emergencies] FOR
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07126-01-1
A. 980 2
STATE DISASTER EMERGENCIES INVOLVING PUBLIC HEALTH. 1. Definitions. For
the purposes of this section:
a. "Personal protective equipment" shall mean all equipment worn to
minimize exposure to hazards, including gloves, masks, face shields,
foot and eye protection, protective hearing devices, respirators, hard
hats, and disposable gowns and aprons.
b. "Public employer" or "employer" shall mean the state of New York, a
county, city, town, village or any other political subdivision or civil
division of the state, a public authority, commission or public benefit
corporation, or any other public corporation, agency, instrumentality or
unit of government which exercises governmental power under the laws of
this state, provided, however, that this subdivision shall not include
any employer as defined in section twenty-eight hundred one-a of the
education law.
c. ["Contractor" shall mean an individual performing services as party
to a contract awarded by the state of New York or any other public
employer defined in paragraph b of this subdivision.
d.] "Essential" shall refer to a designation made that a public
employee [or contractor] is required to be physically present at a work
site to perform his or her job. SUCH DESIGNATION MAY BE CHANGED AT ANY
TIME IN THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE EMPLOYER.
[e.] D. "Non-essential" shall refer to a designation made that a
public employee [or contractor] is not required to be physically present
at a work site to perform his or her job. SUCH DESIGNATION MAY BE
CHANGED AT ANY TIME IN THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE EMPLOYER.
[f.] E. "Communicable disease" shall mean an illness caused by an
infectious agent or its toxins that occurs through the direct or indi-
rect transmission of the infectious agent or its products from an
infected individual [or via an animal, vector or the inanimate environ-
ment to a susceptible animal or human host].
[g.] F. "Retaliatory action" shall mean the discharge, suspension,
demotion, [penalization,] or discrimination against any employee, or
other adverse employment action taken against an employee in the terms
and conditions of employment.
2. Each public employer in the state of New York shall prepare a plan
for the continuation of operations in the event that the governor
declares a [public health] STATE DISASTER emergency involving a communi-
cable disease. Such plans shall follow the provisions for review and
publication as prescribed in subdivision four of this section.
3. The operations plan required by this section shall include, but not
be limited to:
a. A list and description of THE TYPES OF positions [and titles]
considered essential in the event of a state-ordered reduction of
in-person workforce[, and a justification of such consideration for each
position and title included].
b. A [specific] description of protocols the employer will follow [in
order to enable all] FOR non-essential employees [and contractors] to
telecommute including, but not limited to, facilitating or requesting
the procurement, distribution, downloading and installation of any need-
ed [devices or] technology, including software, data, [office laptops or
cell phones,] and the transferring of office phone lines to work or
personal cell phones as practicable or applicable to the workplace, AND
MAY INCLUDE DEVICES.
c. A description of how the employer will, to the extent possible,
stagger work shifts of essential employees [and contractors] in order to
reduce overcrowding on public transportation systems and at worksites.
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d. A description of the protocol the employer will implement in order
to procure the appropriate personal protective equipment for essential
employees [and contractors], based upon the various tasks and needs of
such employees [and contractors] in a quantity sufficient to provide [at
least two pieces of each type of] personal protective equipment to each
essential employee [and contractor] during any given work shift [over at
least six months]. Such description shall also include a plan for stor-
age of such equipment to prevent degradation and permit immediate access
in the event of an emergency declaration.
e. A description of the protocol in the event an employee [or contrac-
tor] is exposed to a known case of the communicable disease that is the
subject of the [public health] STATE DISASTER emergency, exhibits symp-
toms of such disease, or tests positive for such disease in order to
prevent the spread or contraction of such disease in the workplace. Such
protocol shall also detail actions to be taken to immediately and thor-
oughly disinfect the work area of any employee [or contractor] known or
suspected to be infected with the communicable disease as well as any
common area surface and shared equipment such employee [or contractor]
may have touched, and the employer policy on available leave in the
event of the need of an employee to receive testing, treatment,
isolation, or quarantine. Such protocol shall not involve any action
that would violate any existing federal, state, or local law, including
regarding sick leave or health information privacy.
f. A protocol for documenting [precise] hours and work locations,
including off-site visits, for essential employees [and contractors].
Such protocol shall be designed only to aid in tracking of the disease
and to identify the population of exposed employees [and contractors] in
order to facilitate the provision of any benefits which may be available
to certain employees [and contractors] on that basis.
g. A protocol for how the public employer will work with such employ-
er's locality to identify sites for emergency housing for essential
employees in order to further contain the spread of the communicable
disease that is the subject of the declared emergency, to the extent
applicable to the needs of the workplace.
H. ANY OTHER REQUIREMENTS DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SUCH
AS CONTRACT TRACING OR TESTING, SOCIAL DISTANCING, HAND HYGIENE AND
DISINFECTANT, OR MASK WEARING.
4. Once drafted, each public employer shall present the plan described
in this section to all applicable duly recognized or certified represen-
tatives of the employer's employees, who shall then be granted an oppor-
tunity to review the plan and make recommendations, if any, provided
that nothing shall preclude such representatives from making such recom-
mendations prior to the draft being completed. The employer must consid-
er and respond to such recommendations in writing within a reasonable
timeframe. A copy of the final version of such plan shall then be
published in a clear and conspicuous location, and in the employee hand-
book, to the extent that the employer provides such handbook to its
employees, and in a location accessible on either the employer's website
or on the internet accessible by employees. No employer shall take
retaliatory action or otherwise discriminate against any employee for
making [suggestions or] recommendations regarding the content of the
plan.
5. The department shall establish procedures to allow for public
employees [or contract workers] to contact and inform the department of
any alleged [or believed] violations of any of the provisions described
in this section.
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6. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to impede, infringe, dimin-
ish or impair the rights of a public employee or employer under any law,
rule, regulation or collectively negotiated agreement, or the rights and
benefits which accrue to employees through collective bargaining agree-
ments, or otherwise diminish the integrity of the existing collective
bargaining relationship.
§ 2. Subdivision 6-a of section 27-a of the labor law, as added by
section 2 of a chapter of the laws of 2020, amending the labor law
relating to requiring public employers to adopt a plan for operations in
the event of a declared public health emergency involving a communicable
disease; and amending the education law relating to certain protocols
for responding to a declared public health emergency involving a commu-
nicable disease, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 8617B and
A. 10832, is amended to read as follows:
6-a. Form of complaints. The department shall establish a dedicated
webpage [and hotline] through which any public employee under the juris-
diction of this section [or contractor as defined by the chapter which
added this subdivision] may report alleged or believed violations of any
state law, regulation, rule or guidance related to occupational health
and safety involving a communicable disease, including but not limited
to the novel coronavirus COVID-19. Such webpage [and hotline] shall
allow individuals to report alleged or believed violations anonymously.
§ 3. Paragraphs l and m of subdivision 2 of section 2801-a of the
education law, as amended by section 3 of a chapter of the laws of 2020,
amending the labor law relating to requiring public employers to adopt a
plan for operations in the event of a declared public health emergency
involving a communicable disease; and amending the education law relat-
ing to certain protocols for responding to a declared public health
emergency involving a communicable disease, as proposed in legislative
bills numbers S. 8617B and A. 10832, is amended to read as follows:
l. the designation of the superintendent, or superintendent's desig-
nee, as the district chief emergency officer responsible for coordinat-
ing communication between school staff and law enforcement and first
responders, and ensuring staff understanding of the district-level safe-
ty plan. The chief emergency officer shall also be responsible for
ensuring the completion and yearly updating of building-level emergency
response plans; [or] AND
m. protocols for responding to a declared [public health] STATE DISAS-
TER emergency involving a communicable disease that are substantially
consistent with the provisions of section twenty-seven-c of the labor
law.
§ 4. Section 4 of a chapter of the laws of 2020, amending the labor
law relating to requiring public employers to adopt a plan for oper-
ations in the event of a declared public health emergency involving a
communicable disease; and amending the education law relating to certain
protocols for responding to a declared public health emergency involving
a communicable disease, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.
8617B and A. 10832, is amended to read as follows:
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however that
[the] A DRAFT operation [plans in the event of certain declared public
health emergencies] PLAN established pursuant to section 27-c of the
labor law shall be [finalized and] published, AND PROVIDED FOR COMMENTS
TO THE APPLICABLE DULY RECOGNIZED OR CERTIFIED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
EMPLOYER'S EMPLOYEES AND TO THE RELEVANT LABOR-MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES NOT
LATER THAN 150 DAYS FROM THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ACT; AND PROVIDED
FURTHER the [hotline and] webpage established pursuant to section 27-a
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of the labor law shall be functional, [and] the protocols for responding
to a declared [public health] STATE DISASTER emergency involving a
communicable disease pursuant to paragraph m of subdivision 2 of section
2801-a of the education law shall be established and functional [within
30 days of the effective date of this act], AND THE OPERATION PLAN SHALL
BE FINALIZED BY APRIL 1, 2021.
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately.