N.Y. publishes infectious disease prevention rules for employers

The New York State Department of Labor on Tuesday published its Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan under the recently enacted New York Health and Essential Rights Act, which requires the state to create various industry-specific model plans for the prevention of airborne infectious disease.

Under the law, employers who are not subject to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration emergency temporary standard for COVID-19 prevention — which applies only to the health care industry — can choose to adopt the applicable policy template/plan provided by state DOL or by Aug. 5 establish an alternative plan that “meets or exceeds” the standard’s minimum requirements.

The plan calls for infectious disease exposure controls, such as social distancing, face coverings, disinfection and hand hygiene facilities, to be put into place in the event of “an airborne infectious agent or disease designated by the Commissioner of Health as a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health.” The rules also include antiretaliation measures to protect workers who report unsafe conditions.

In addition to the general model plan, several industry-specific rules were also published, covering such industries as agriculture, construction, emergency response, food services, manufacturing, education, transportation and retail.

More insurance and workers compensation news on the coronavirus crisis here.