§ 178. Medical examination of public protection officials to detect
and identify the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). 1. Definitions. For
the purposes of this section:

(a) "Assailant" means a person arrested and charged with a crime, as
defined in section 10.00 of the penal law, or a person committed to,
certified to, or placed in the custody of the department of corrections
and community supervision or any other correctional facility or county
jail.

(b) "Medical examination" includes a physical examination or test
performed by a physician or other appropriate health care worker to
determine if a public protection official has been exposed to or
infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Tests may include,
but need not be limited to, the most accurate, sensitive, and timely
tests available used for the early identification of the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

(c) "Public protection official" means any state, county or municipal
police officer, peace officer, firefighter, emergency medical
technician, corrections officer, or sheriff who is acting under the
scope of authority of his or her official position.

(d) "Significant risk of transmission" means the alleged conduct of or
actions taken by an assailant or any other action, situation or event
that occurs while a public protection official is performing his or her
official duties that has created a recognized and significant risk of
infection of a public protection official with the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as determined by the commissioner of
health, consistent with guidelines, protocols, and findings of the
United States centers for disease control and prevention.

2. Examination of public protection officials. (a) Whenever a public
protection official has been exposed to a significant risk of
transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while performing
his or her official duties, the employer of such official shall provide
to such public protection official an appropriate medical examination to
determine if such official has been exposed to or infected with the
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Such medical examination of a public
protection official should be provided within eight hours of
notification to the employer or designated agent of the employer of an
incident that has created an exposure risk to the official.

(b) Should it be determined by the examining physician or other
attending health care worker that a significant risk of transmission has
occurred, or should any medical examination conclude that a public
protection official has been exposed to or infected with the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), then such official shall be offered
counseling and additional testing, as appropriate and consistent with
treatment guidelines issued by the commissioner of health. Such
counseling may include a discussion of the risk of the transmission of
the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from the exposure he or she may
have experienced and the spectrum of tests commercially available for
the prompt and reliable diagnosis of such infection. Information from
any such medical examination of a public protection official shall be
confidential information pursuant to article twenty-seven-F of the
public health law and shall not be made available to the employer
without the written authorization of the affected public protection
official.

3. Payment for medical examinations. Payment for medical examinations,
additional testing, treatment services, counseling services, and any
other additional services provided pursuant to subdivision two of this
section shall be covered by subdivision three of section ten of the
workers' compensation law; provided that any employer which is not
required to and does not provide coverage pursuant to subdivision three
of section ten of the workers' compensation law may finance such
payments for all of the foregoing services provided for by this section
from municipal funding sources, including, but not limited to, employee
accident and disability benefit programs, workers' compensation funds,
health insurance benefits, accident and disability retirement plans, or
any other source of funds that the municipal employer deems appropriate.

4. Guidelines. The commissioner of health shall issue guidelines to
facilitate the identification of circumstances potentially exposing a
public protection official to a significant risk of transmission of the
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Such guidelines shall be consistent
with criteria accepted by the federal centers for disease control and
prevention. Such guidelines shall also provide information regarding
related counseling and testing procedures available to such individuals.

5. Confidentiality. Any information gathered pursuant to the
provisions of this article which is deemed confidential under any other
provision of law shall be treated in a confidential manner and shall not
be distributed, be made available or be disclosed by the employer.