By Frankfurt Kurnit
Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Health and Essential Rights Act (“HERO Act”) into law yesterday, May 6, 2021, as a response to COVID-19 safety concerns in connection with New Yorkers returning to in-person work. The HERO Act will establish new health and safety standards as well as penalties for noncompliance. Here is what employers need to know:
Who is Covered?
The HERO Act will apply to New York employers of all sizes, and will provide protections to all persons providing labor or services for remuneration for a private entity within the state, which includes employees, independent contractors, domestic workers, home care and personal care workers, day laborers, farm workers and other temporary and seasonal workers.
New Health and Safety Standards
The Act requires that the NY Department of Labor establish industry-specific minimum requirements for preventing exposure to airborne infectious diseases within 30 days of the bill becoming law. The topics that must be addressed include health screenings, face coverings, PPE, hand hygiene cleaning and disinfecting, social distancing, compliance with applicable engineering controls (i.e. proper air flow and exhaust ventilation) and compliance with mandatory or precautionary orders of quarantine.
All New York employers, regardless of size, will be required to implement, post and distribute a plan that complies with the minimum standards.
Joint Workplace Safety Committees
The HERO Act also requires that, effective 180 days following enactment, employers of ten or more employees must permit workers to establish and administer a “joint labor-management workplace safety committee” comprising at least 2/3 non-supervisory employees and that shall be co-chaired by a representative of the employer and non-supervisory employees. These committees are authorized to raise health and safety concerns, review and provide feedback on related employer policies, participate in site visits by government entities responsible for enforcing health and safety standards, and to review reports. Committee members must be permitted to meet at least quarterly during working hours and attend related trainings without loss of pay, and are protected from retaliation in connection with their role.
Penalties
Employers who fail to adopt a plan will be subject to a penalty of $50 per day until a plan is implemented, and employers who fail to comply with their adopted plans face fines ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.
The HERO Act also provides employees with a private right of action, including the ability to seek injunctive relief, against their employer. Courts may award up to $20,000 in liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
The HERO Act will impose significant new health and safety obligations on New York employers, and companies should start taking steps now to prepare for compliance.
Josh C. Kline joins Scripto as CEO
Josh C. Kline has been named the new CEO of Scripto, the innovative real-time, cloud-native platform designed for remote collaborative scriptwriting and production. Kline will steer Scripto into its next phase of growth. Plans call for Scripto to further transform collaboration throughout the writing and production stages, enabling creative teams to accelerate their workflow and enhance teamwork.
Emmy®-winning programs such as “Late Night with Stephen Colbert,” “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” “The Daily Show,” and the Weekend Update on “Saturday Night Live” rely on Scripto’s advanced workflow tools to allow show writers and production teams to work together seamlessly from any location.
“Late Night” host Colbert, co-founder of Scripto, said of Kline, “His deep background in entertainment technology will help take our groundbreaking platform to new heights, and also ensure we are on the winning side when the AIs finally make their move, which we all know is coming. I can’t wait to see what we’ll achieve together.
Kline brings a wealth of experience in technology and media. He previously served as head of media & entertainment at Box. Kline co-founded Sample Digital, where he developed Digital Dailies™, revolutionizing the review and approval process for film and TV production and earning him a Primetime Engineering Emmy Award. His entrepreneurial spirit continued with the launch of Secure Path Technology, a cloud-based content ID and metadata services company. Kline was chief strategy officer at Final Draft before joining Box as head of media & entertainment, and has consulted for major global clients including Microsoft, Avid, and Motion Picture Domain Registry.
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