Senate Deputy Leader Gianaris, Assembly Member Reyes, Advocates Reveal:

NYSDOH Has Not Declared Covid-19 A Serious Risk To Public Health, Delaying NY HERO Act Workplace Safety Rules

NEW YORK – Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris, Assembly Member Karines Reyes, and members of the Essential Worker Coalition are calling on incoming-Governor Kathy Hochul to direct the state Department of Health to act under the NY HERO Act to keep workplaces safe. The NY HERO Act, passed earlier this year by the Legislature and signed into law by the outgoing Governor, requires the Department of Health to declare a disease, like covid-19, “a highly contagious, communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to public health” before the law’s protections can be implemented. To date, the state’s health agency has not done so.

SOURCE - New York State Senate August 24, 2021