N.Y. Public Health Law § 2895-b: Nursing home staffing levels

§ 2895-b. Nursing home staffing levels. 1. Definitions. As used in

this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Certified nurse aide" means any person included in the nursing

home nurse aide registry pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred

three-j of this chapter.

(b) "Licensed nurse" means a registered professional nurse or licensed

practical nurse licensed pursuant to article one hundred thirty-nine of

the education law.

(c) "Staffing hours" means the hours reported by a nursing home to the

federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services through the payroll

based journal for long-term care facilities.

(d) "Nurse aides" means any person who is included in the nurse aide

hour component of the payroll based journal for long-term care

facilities but has not yet been certified as a certified nurse aide.

2. Staffing standards. (a) The commissioner shall, by regulation,

establish staffing standards for nursing home minimum staffing levels to

meet applicable standards of service and care and to provide services to

attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and

psychosocial well-being of each resident of the facility. Compliance

shall be determined quarterly by comparing the daily average of the

number of hours provided per resident, per day, using the federal

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services payroll based journal and the

facility's average daily census on a daily basis.

(b) The commissioner shall establish, by regulation, civil penalties

for facilities out of compliance with minimum staffing levels. Such

regulations shall include a range of penalties to account for mitigating

factors which shall include:

(i) extraordinary circumstances facing the facility, including, but

not limited to, whether the facility has suffered through a natural

disaster or other catastrophic event, an officially declared national

emergency, or state or municipal emergency declared pursuant to article

two-B of the executive law, which has been initially declared subsequent

to the effective date of this section, or other such conditions or

unforeseen circumstances as determined by the commissioner;

(ii) the frequency and nature of non-compliance; and

(iii) the existence of an acute labor supply shortage within a

particular region. When determining if there is an acute labor supply

shortage within a specific region in a specific quarter, or a shorter

period of time as determined by the commissioner, the commissioner shall

take into consideration the following factors: regional labor supply of

available certified nurse aides, licensed practical nurses and

registered nurses; regional pay rates for the relevant titles as

determined by the federal department of labor, bureau of labor

statistics; and evidence that the facility attempted to procure

sufficient staffing.

(c) At least thirty days before any action is taken by the

commissioner under paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the commissioner

shall post the assessed penalties, and any mitigating factors that were

considered in assessing the penalty on the department's website.

(d) In determining whether a nursing home has violated its obligations

under this section, it shall not be a defense that such nursing home was

unable to secure sufficient staff if the lack of staffing was

foreseeable and could be prudently planned for, or involved routine

staffing needs that arose due to typical staffing patterns, typical

levels of absenteeism, or time off typically approved by the employer

for vacation, holidays, sick leave, and personal leave.

(e) A civil penalty shall not be imposed under this section until

after April first, two thousand twenty-two;

(f) Every nursing home shall:

(i) comply with the staffing standards under this section; and

(ii) employ sufficient staffing levels to meet applicable standards of

service and care and to provide service and care and to provide services

to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and

psychosocial well-being of each resident of the facility.

(g) Staffing standards established under this subdivision shall, at a

minimum, be the staffing standards established under subdivision three

of this section.

(h) The minimum staffing standard includes the hours which are

required to be reported by a nursing home to the federal Centers for

Medicare and Medicaid Services through the payroll based journal for

long-term care for certified nursing assistants and licensed nurses. In

determining compliance with the staffing standards under this

subdivision, an individual shall not be counted while performing

administrative services as defined in the payroll based journal for

long-term care facilities.

3. Statutory standard. (a) Beginning January first, two thousand

twenty-two every nursing home shall maintain daily average staffing

hours equal to 3.5 hours of care per resident per day by a certified

nurse aide, a licensed nurse or a nurse aide; provided that out of such

3.5 hours, no less than 2.2 hours of care per resident per day shall be

provided by a certified nurse aide or a nurse aide, and no less than 1.1

hours of care per resident per day shall be provided by a licensed

nurse.

(b) Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-three and thereafter

every nursing home shall maintain daily average staffing hours equal to

3.5 hours of care per resident per day by a certified nurse aide or a

licensed nurse; provided that out of such 3.5 hours, no less than 2.2

hours of care per resident per day shall be provided by a certified

nurse aide, and no less than 1.1 hours of care per resident per day

shall be provided by a licensed nurse.

4. Public disclosure of staffing levels. (a) A nursing home shall post

information regarding nurse staffing that the facility is required to

make available to the public under section twenty-eight hundred five-t

of this chapter. Information under this paragraph shall be displayed in

a form approved by the department and be posted in a manner which is

visible and accessible to residents, their families and the staff, as

required by the commissioner.

(b) A nursing home shall post a summary of this section, provided by

the department, in proximity to each posting required by paragraph (a)

of this subdivision.

* 5. Fines and civil penalties. (a) All fines and civil penalties

collected by the commissioner pursuant to this section shall be

deposited into a nursing home worker recruitment and safety fund

established pursuant to section ninety-nine-ss of the state finance law

to enhance the quality of employment for residential health care

facility employees and assist in the recruitment and safety of

residential health care facility staff.

(b) The commissioner shall distribute monies made available for this

purpose under this subdivision in the form of grants to providers. In

determining the funding for providers, the commissioner shall consider

criteria including, but not limited to, the overall census of a facility

and the rate region the facility is located within. The commissioner

shall promulgate the rules and regulations necessary for implementing

the program.

* NB Effective December 19, 2026