Establishes an essential workers' bill of rights; provides that all employers shall provide essential workers with personal protective equipment, inform such workers of exposure to any disease related to a state disaster emergency, and not retaliate for any report of an unsafe work environment; provides certain employers shall make hazard payments and cover the costs of any child care or health care needed by such essential workers for the duration of the state disaster emergency.
This bill would add a new section to the Labor Law creating an “essential workers’ bill of rights” that applies during a state disaster emergency. It defines essential workers broadly to include employees in health care, infrastructure, manufacturing, retail, transportation, media, banking, child care, government support, and other services needed to maintain public health, safety, welfare, and essential operations.
During a declared emergency, covered employers would be required to provide essential workers with personal protective equipment at no cost, notify them when a co-worker has contracted a disease related to the emergency and of potential exposure, and prohibit retaliation or discrimination against workers who report unsafe conditions. Employers would also have to post and distribute the bill of rights and provide information on how workers can report unsafe conditions or noncompliance.
The bill would amend the New York Labor Law by adding section 202-m and would impose new emergency-period obligations on certain employers, including formula retail stores, large employers, transportation businesses, franchisees, and subcontractors. It would require those employers to adopt a written workers’ bill of rights and, for covered employers, to provide hazard payments and pay for child care or health care costs needed by essential workers during the emergency. The commissioner would have authority to prescribe the form and amount of hazard payments, subject to statutory caps, and to identify additional protective equipment by regulation.
No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no direct evidence of legislative debate or recorded support/opposition in the materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears worker-protective and public-health oriented, with an emphasis on safety, transparency, and compensation for employees who continue working during emergencies.
The main likely points of contention are the bill’s cost and scope. Employers subject to the measure may object to mandatory PPE, exposure-notification duties, anti-retaliation requirements, hazard payments, and coverage of child care or health care expenses, especially because the bill reaches large employers, formula retail chains, transportation businesses, franchisees, and subcontractors. Another possible issue is the breadth of the definition of “essential worker,” which covers a wide range of industries and functions, and the commissioner’s discretion to set hazard-payment amounts and identify additional required equipment.