As of March 18, 2022, New York employers are no longer required to implement NY HERO Act safety plans. As confirmed by the New York State Department of Health’s press release:
"On March 17, 2022, the designation of COVID-19 as an airborne infectious disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health under the HERO Act ended. Private sector employers are no longer required to implement their workforce safety plans.”
On September 6, 2021, the Commissioner of Health designated COVID-19 as a “highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health” under the NY HERO Act, triggering the requirement that New York employers implement their safety plans. The designation was extended multiple times, with the final extension effective through March 17, 2022. The New York State Department of Labor’s dedicated NY HERO Act website has been updated to reflect the end of the requirement for private employers to implement a COVID-19-related safety plan.
Accordingly, New York employers may elect to discontinue implementation of their NY HERO safety plans. However, pursuant to the NY HERO Act’s requirements, employers should continue to have an adopted, albeit unimplemented, plan on file and included in employee handbooks in the event the Commissioner of Health makes a future designation of an “airborne infectious disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health.”
The end of the NY HERO designation does not affect other state and local requirements, such as New York City's mandate that private sector workers be vaccinated to work on-site, which remains in place.
