New York Assembly Bill A09453

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/6/26
• Refer: 1/6/26
• Refer: 1/7/26
• Report Pass: 1/21/26
• Refer: 1/21/26
• Engrossed: 1/21/26
• Engrossed: 1/29/26
• Enrolled: 2/13/26
• Chaptered: 2/13/26
• Passed: 2/13/26

Caption

Relates to requirements regarding employers including opioid antagonists where first aid kits are required by federal law; amends the effectiveness thereof.

Summary

A09453 amends New York labor law to require employers who are already federally required to maintain first aid supplies under OSHA to also have an opioid antagonist available for use in workplace first aid or emergency treatment. The bill defines the term by reference to the Public Health Law and clarifies that administering an opioid antagonist under this section counts as first aid or emergency treatment for purposes of the state’s Good Samaritan/emergency treatment provisions. The bill also directs the Commissioner of Labor, in coordination with the Commissioner of Health, to adopt regulations on the number of opioid antagonists workplaces should keep based on workplace size, training for personnel, and any other implementation issues. It further amends the effective-date language of the underlying 2025 law so that the requirement takes effect one year after enactment, with immediate authorization for necessary rulemaking, and ties this bill’s section 1 to the effective date of the 2025 chapter it modifies.

Impact

This legislation expands workplace safety obligations for covered employers by adding naloxone or another opioid antagonist to the set of first aid resources required in certain workplaces. It affects the Labor Law, and by cross-reference the Public Health Law, while excluding the state, political subdivisions, public authorities, and other governmental instrumentalities from the definition of employer. The bill primarily impacts private employers subject to federal first-aid requirements, as well as the Labor and Health departments responsible for implementing regulations.

Sentiment

The available voting history shows strong bipartisan support and little visible opposition. The Assembly Labor Committee, Assembly Rules Committee, Assembly floor, and Senate floor all advanced or passed the bill overwhelmingly, with only one dissenting vote in each chamber’s floor vote. That pattern suggests broad agreement with the workplace opioid-overdose-prevention goal and the bill’s implementation framework.

Contention

The main policy issue is not whether opioid antagonists should be available, but how broadly and how quickly the mandate should apply. The bill narrows the requirement to employers already federally mandated to keep first aid supplies, excludes government employers, and leaves key details to regulation, including how many doses workplaces must stock and what training is required. The only apparent opposition in the recorded votes was minimal, indicating limited public or legislative contention in the available record.