Senator Reichlin-Melnick and the Senate Democratic Majority Advance Legislation To Improve Workplace COVID-19 Safety Standards

New City, NY - Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick and the Senate Democratic Majority passed major legislation to stand up for New York workers today. This package enacts the “NY Hero Act”, which requires the creation of health and safety standards for COVID-19 and other airborne infectious diseases in the workplace. This package also includes legislation to encourage employer use of shared work programs to avoid layoffs and legislation to increase the amount of shared work benefits to the maximum allowed by federal law. In addition, these bills promote career paths into healthcare, permit employee time off for vaccinations to be administered, and grant an enhanced death benefit to families of deceased public employees.

Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick (D-Rockland/Westchester) said “The essential and frontline workers of New York have been the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and are often the least equipped to control and defend against the virus. This past year has shown the need for new workplace protections for working people that are equitable, fair, and far-reaching - passing the NY Hero Act along with the other bills in today’s package does exactly that. I am also very excited that we have passed legislation to help ensure that our medical facilities have the staff that they need to protect both patients and providers.”

The legislation passed by Senator Reichlin-Melnick and the Senate Majority includes:

●      NY Hero Act: will implement airborne infectious disease standards requiring employers to implement an infectious disease exposure prevention plan.

●      Shared Work Program Petition: will allow employees to petition their employer to apply for the shared work program in order to avoid layoffs or to rehire laid off workers.

●      Vaccination Leave: will  grant public and private employees four hours of time off, per dose, to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

●      Healthcare Employment Incentivization: will require the New York State Department of Labor and Department of Health to establish a program to incentivize unemployed individuals to enter short-staffed jobs in healthcare by expediting training and certification.

●      Shared Work Program Benefit Extension: will increase the amount of unemployment insurance benefits an employee can claim under the shared work program to limits of the federal maximum.

●      Public Employee Death Benefit: will extend previously enacted accidental death benefits to the families of frontline workers who have passed away due to COVID-19.