N.Y. Labor Law § 27-c: Preparation of public employers for state disaster emergencies involving public health

§ 27-c. Preparation of public employers for 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. "Essential" shall refer to a designation made that a public

employee 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.

d. "Non-essential" shall refer to a designation made that a public

employee 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.

e. "Communicable disease" shall mean an illness caused by an

infectious agent or its toxins that occurs through the direct or

indirect transmission of the infectious agent or its products from an

infected individual.

f. "Retaliatory action" shall mean the discharge, suspension,

demotion, 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 state disaster emergency involving a communicable 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 considered

essential in the event of a state-ordered reduction of in-person

workforce.

b. A description of protocols the employer will follow for

non-essential employees to telecommute including, but not limited to,

facilitating or requesting the procurement, distribution, downloading

and installation of any needed technology, including software, data, 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 in order to reduce

overcrowding on public transportation systems and at worksites.

d. A description of the protocol the employer will implement in order

to procure the appropriate personal protective equipment for essential

employees, based upon the various tasks and needs of such employees in a

quantity sufficient to provide personal protective equipment to each

essential employee during any given work shift. Such description shall

also include a plan for storage 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 is exposed

to a known case of the communicable disease that is the subject of the

state disaster emergency, exhibits symptoms 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 thoroughly disinfect the work

area of any employee known or suspected to be infected with the

communicable disease as well as any common area surface and shared

equipment such employee 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 hours and work locations, including

off-site visits, for essential employees. Such protocol shall be

designed only to aid in tracking of the disease and to identify the

population of exposed employees in order to facilitate the provision of

any benefits which may be available to certain employees on that basis.

g. A protocol for how the public employer will work with such

employer'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

representatives of the employer's employees, who shall then be granted

an opportunity to review the plan and make recommendations, if any,

provided that nothing shall preclude such representatives from making

such recommendations prior to the draft being completed. The employer

must consider 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 handbook, 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 recommendations regarding the content of the

plan.

5. The department shall establish procedures to allow for public

employees to contact and inform the department of any alleged violations

of any of the provisions described in this section.

6. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to impede, infringe,

diminish 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 agreements, or otherwise diminish the integrity of the

existing collective bargaining relationship.