S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1295
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 11, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to requiring public employers
   to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a declared state disas-
   ter emergency involving a communicable disease; to amend the education
   law,  in  relation  to  certain protocols for responding to a declared
   state disaster emergency involving  a  communicable  disease;  and  to
   amend  a  chapter of the laws of 2020, amending the labor law relating
   to requiring public employers to adopt a plan for  operations  in  the
   event  of  a declared public health emergency involving a communicable
   disease; and amending the education law relating to certain  protocols
   for  responding  to  a  declared  public  health emergency involving a
   communicable disease; and  amending  the  education  law  relating  to
   certain protocols for responding to a declared public health emergency
   involving  a  communicable  disease,  as proposed in legislative bills
   numbers S.8617B and A.10832, in relation to requiring public employers
   to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a declared state disas-
   ter emergency involving a communicable disease
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 27-c of the labor law, as added by section 1 of a
 chapter of the laws of 2020, amending the labor law relating to  requir-
 ing  public  employers  to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a
 declared public health emergency involving a communicable  disease;  and
 amending  the education law relating to certain protocols for responding
 to a declared public health emergency involving a communicable  disease,
 as  proposed  in  legislative  bills  numbers  S. 8617B and A. 10832, is
 amended to read as follows:
   § 27-c. [Duty] PREPARATION of public employers [to  develop  operation
 plans  in  the  event of certain declared public health emergencies] FOR
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07126-01-1
              

 S. 1295                             2
 
 STATE DISASTER EMERGENCIES INVOLVING PUBLIC HEALTH. 1.  Definitions. For
 the purposes of this section:
   a.  "Personal  protective  equipment" shall mean all equipment worn to
 minimize exposure to hazards, including  gloves,  masks,  face  shields,
 foot  and  eye protection, protective hearing devices, respirators, hard
 hats, and disposable gowns and aprons.
   b. "Public employer" or "employer" shall mean the state of New York, a
 county, city, town, village or any other political subdivision or  civil
 division  of the state, a public authority, commission or public benefit
 corporation, or any other public corporation, agency, instrumentality or
 unit of government which exercises governmental power under the laws  of
 this  state,  provided, however, that this subdivision shall not include
 any employer as defined in section twenty-eight  hundred  one-a  of  the
 education law.
   c. ["Contractor" shall mean an individual performing services as party
 to  a  contract  awarded  by  the  state of New York or any other public
 employer defined in paragraph b of this subdivision.
   d.] "Essential" shall refer  to  a  designation  made  that  a  public
 employee  [or contractor] is required to be physically present at a work
 site to perform his or her job. SUCH DESIGNATION MAY BE CHANGED  AT  ANY
 TIME IN THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE EMPLOYER.
   [e.]  D.  "Non-essential"  shall  refer  to  a designation made that a
 public employee [or contractor] is not required to be physically present
 at a work site to perform his  or  her  job.  SUCH  DESIGNATION  MAY  BE
 CHANGED AT ANY TIME IN THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE EMPLOYER.
   [f.]  E.  "Communicable  disease"  shall  mean an illness caused by an
 infectious agent or its toxins that occurs through the direct  or  indi-
 rect  transmission  of  the  infectious  agent  or  its products from an
 infected individual [or via an animal, vector or the inanimate  environ-
 ment to a susceptible animal or human host].
   [g.]  F.  "Retaliatory  action"  shall mean the discharge, suspension,
 demotion, [penalization,] or discrimination  against  any  employee,  or
 other  adverse  employment action taken against an employee in the terms
 and conditions of employment.
   2. Each public employer in the state of New York shall prepare a  plan
 for  the  continuation  of  operations  in  the  event that the governor
 declares a [public health] STATE DISASTER emergency involving a communi-
 cable disease. Such plans shall follow the  provisions  for  review  and
 publication as prescribed in subdivision four of this section.
   3. The operations plan required by this section shall include, but not
 be limited to:
   a.  A  list  and  description  of  THE TYPES OF positions [and titles]
 considered essential in  the  event  of  a  state-ordered  reduction  of
 in-person workforce[, and a justification of such consideration for each
 position and title included].
   b.  A [specific] description of protocols the employer will follow [in
 order to enable all] FOR non-essential employees  [and  contractors]  to
 telecommute  including,  but  not limited to, facilitating or requesting
 the procurement, distribution, downloading and installation of any need-
 ed [devices or] technology, including software, data, [office laptops or
 cell phones,] and the transferring of office  phone  lines  to  work  or
 personal  cell phones as practicable or applicable to the workplace, AND
 MAY INCLUDE DEVICES.
   c. A description of how the employer will,  to  the  extent  possible,
 stagger work shifts of essential employees [and contractors] in order to
 reduce overcrowding on public transportation systems and at worksites.

 S. 1295                             3
 
   d.  A description of the protocol the employer will implement in order
 to procure the appropriate personal protective equipment  for  essential
 employees  [and  contractors], based upon the various tasks and needs of
 such employees [and contractors] in a quantity sufficient to provide [at
 least  two pieces of each type of] personal protective equipment to each
 essential employee [and contractor] during any given work shift [over at
 least six months]. Such description shall also include a plan for  stor-
 age of such equipment to prevent degradation and permit immediate access
 in the event of an emergency declaration.
   e. A description of the protocol in the event an employee [or contrac-
 tor]  is exposed to a known case of the communicable disease that is the
 subject of the [public health] STATE DISASTER emergency, exhibits  symp-
 toms  of  such  disease,  or tests positive for such disease in order to
 prevent the spread or contraction of such disease in the workplace. Such
 protocol shall also detail actions to be taken to immediately and  thor-
 oughly  disinfect the work area of any employee [or contractor] known or
 suspected to be infected with the communicable disease as  well  as  any
 common  area  surface and shared equipment such employee [or contractor]
 may have touched, and the employer policy  on  available  leave  in  the
 event  of  the  need  of  an  employee  to  receive  testing, treatment,
 isolation, or quarantine. Such protocol shall  not  involve  any  action
 that  would violate any existing federal, state, or local law, including
 regarding sick leave or health information privacy.
   f. A protocol for documenting  [precise]  hours  and  work  locations,
 including  off-site  visits,  for essential employees [and contractors].
 Such protocol shall be designed only to aid in tracking of  the  disease
 and to identify the population of exposed employees [and contractors] in
 order to facilitate the provision of any benefits which may be available
 to certain employees [and contractors] on that basis.
   g.  A protocol for how the public employer will work with such employ-
 er's locality to identify sites  for  emergency  housing  for  essential
 employees  in  order  to  further contain the spread of the communicable
 disease that is the subject of the declared  emergency,  to  the  extent
 applicable to the needs of the workplace.
   H.  ANY OTHER REQUIREMENTS DETERMINED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SUCH
 AS CONTRACT TRACING OR TESTING,  SOCIAL  DISTANCING,  HAND  HYGIENE  AND
 DISINFECTANT, OR MASK WEARING.
   4. Once drafted, each public employer shall present the plan described
 in this section to all applicable duly recognized or certified represen-
 tatives of the employer's employees, who shall then be granted an oppor-
 tunity  to  review  the  plan and make recommendations, if any, provided
 that nothing shall preclude such representatives from making such recom-
 mendations prior to the draft being completed. The employer must consid-
 er and respond to such recommendations in writing  within  a  reasonable
 timeframe.  A  copy  of  the  final  version  of such plan shall then be
 published in a clear and conspicuous location, and in the employee hand-
 book, to the extent that the employer  provides  such  handbook  to  its
 employees, and in a location accessible on either the employer's website
 or  on  the  internet  accessible  by  employees. No employer shall take
 retaliatory action or otherwise discriminate against  any  employee  for
 making  [suggestions  or]  recommendations  regarding the content of the
 plan.
   5. The department shall  establish  procedures  to  allow  for  public
 employees  [or contract workers] to contact and inform the department of
 any alleged [or believed] violations of any of the provisions  described
 in this section.

 S. 1295                             4
 
   6. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to impede, infringe, dimin-
 ish or impair the rights of a public employee or employer under any law,
 rule, regulation or collectively negotiated agreement, or the rights and
 benefits  which accrue to employees through collective bargaining agree-
 ments,  or  otherwise  diminish the integrity of the existing collective
 bargaining relationship.
   § 2. Subdivision 6-a of section 27-a of the labor  law,  as  added  by
 section  2  of  a  chapter  of  the laws of 2020, amending the labor law
 relating to requiring public employers to adopt a plan for operations in
 the event of a declared public health emergency involving a communicable
 disease; and amending the education law relating  to  certain  protocols
 for  responding to a declared public health emergency involving a commu-
 nicable disease, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.  8617B  and
 A. 10832, is amended to read as follows:
   6-a.  Form  of  complaints. The department shall establish a dedicated
 webpage [and hotline] through which any public employee under the juris-
 diction of this section [or contractor as defined by the  chapter  which
 added this subdivision] may report alleged or believed violations of any
 state  law,  regulation, rule or guidance related to occupational health
 and safety involving a communicable disease, including but  not  limited
 to  the  novel  coronavirus  COVID-19.  Such webpage [and hotline] shall
 allow individuals to report alleged or believed violations anonymously.
   § 3. Paragraphs l and m of subdivision 2  of  section  2801-a  of  the
 education law, as amended by section 3 of a chapter of the laws of 2020,
 amending the labor law relating to requiring public employers to adopt a
 plan  for  operations in the event of a declared public health emergency
 involving a communicable disease; and amending the education law  relat-
 ing  to  certain  protocols  for  responding to a declared public health
 emergency involving a communicable disease, as proposed  in  legislative
 bills numbers S. 8617B and A. 10832, is amended to read as follows:
   l.  the  designation of the superintendent, or superintendent's desig-
 nee, as the district chief emergency officer responsible for  coordinat-
 ing  communication  between  school  staff and law enforcement and first
 responders, and ensuring staff understanding of the district-level safe-
 ty plan. The chief emergency  officer  shall  also  be  responsible  for
 ensuring  the completion and yearly updating of building-level emergency
 response plans; [or] AND
   m. protocols for responding to a declared [public health] STATE DISAS-
 TER emergency involving a communicable disease  that  are  substantially
 consistent  with  the  provisions of section twenty-seven-c of the labor
 law.
   § 4. Section 4 of a chapter of the laws of 2020,  amending  the  labor
 law  relating  to  requiring  public employers to adopt a plan for oper-
 ations in the event of a declared public health  emergency  involving  a
 communicable disease; and amending the education law relating to certain
 protocols for responding to a declared public health emergency involving
 a  communicable  disease,  as  proposed  in legislative bills numbers S.
 8617B and A. 10832, is amended to read as follows:
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately;  provided,  however  that
 [the]  A  DRAFT operation [plans in the event of certain declared public
 health emergencies] PLAN established pursuant to  section  27-c  of  the
 labor  law shall be [finalized and] published, AND PROVIDED FOR COMMENTS
 TO THE APPLICABLE DULY RECOGNIZED OR CERTIFIED  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
 EMPLOYER'S EMPLOYEES AND TO THE RELEVANT LABOR-MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES NOT
 LATER  THAN  150  DAYS FROM THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ACT; AND PROVIDED
 FURTHER the [hotline and] webpage established pursuant to  section  27-a

 S. 1295                             5
 
 of the labor law shall be functional, [and] the protocols for responding
 to  a  declared  [public  health]  STATE  DISASTER emergency involving a
 communicable disease pursuant to paragraph m of subdivision 2 of section
 2801-a  of the education law shall be established and functional [within
 30 days of the effective date of this act], AND THE OPERATION PLAN SHALL
 BE FINALIZED BY APRIL 1, 2021.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.