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AB10437 Summary:

BILL NOA10437
 
SAME ASSAME AS S08308
 
SPONSORRules (Rozic)
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add 202-n, Lab L
 
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.
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AB10437 Actions:

BILL NOA10437
 
05/11/2020referred to labor
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AB10437 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A10437
 
SPONSOR: Rules (Rozic)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the labor law, in relation to establishing an essential workers' bill of rights   PURPOSE: To ensure rights, protection and hazard pay for essential workers during a state of emergency.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 of the bill amends the labor Jaw to adding section 202-n. Subsection 1 defines: "essential workers." Subsection 2 requires that during a state of emergency, employers of essential workers must implement the essential workers' bill of rights including the following: * Employers must provide adequate personal protective equipment and products at no cost to the workers; * Employers must inform essential workers when an employee has contracted a disease related to such state disaster emergency and of a worker's potential exposure to disease; * Employers may not retaliate or discriminate against an essential work- er:for reporting any unsafe work environment; Subsection 3: * Defines: "employer," "formula retail store," "large employer," "manu- facturing," "not-for-profit organization," "transportation business," "franchisee or subcontractor." * Directs the Labor Commissioner to direct employers who meet the requirements of this subdivision to make hazard payments to essential workers during a state disaster emergency. The payments will be a percentage or a fixed dollar amount, as prescribed by the commissioner. No hazard payment will exceed twenty-five thousand dollars in any year for any essential worker earning less than two hundred thousand dollars per year or five thousand dollars for any essential worker earning more than two hundred thousand dollars. Hazard payments will be in addition to and not be part of an essential worker's basic annual salary, and will not affect any performance advancement payments, performance awards, longevity payments or other rights or benefits to which an essential worker may be entitled. A hazard payment shall be terminated upon the cessation of the state disaster emergency. * Directs employers to cover the costs of any child care or health care needed by essential workers during the duration of the state disaster emergency. Section 2 is the effective date. Scanned with CamScanner   JUSTIFICATION: During an unprecedented pandemic or state of emergency, many essential workers continue to go to work exposing themselves to high-risk condi- tions without appropriate protective equipment, adequate safety stand- ards, proper health care and childcare or basic job protections. This leaves them susceptible to contracting contagions and other dangers at a higher rate than the general public. For example, during the first few months of the COVID-1 9 pandemic in the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) received more than 3,000 worker complaints regarding the coronavirus between January 2020 and April 2020 outlining the fear and danger essential workers faced on a daily basi- sill. Complaints highlighted the lack of personal protective equipment, the lack of transparency regarding coworkers testing positive for the virus, and inadequate pay. To date, there have been patchwork suggestions issued at the federal state and local levels; but no wide- spread regulations to ensure the safety and wellbeing of essential work- ers. This legislation would require employers of essential workers as defined by the Governor Cuomo's Executive Order 202.6 of 2020 to implement an essential workers' bill of rights that * Would ensure workers have adequate personal protective equipment * Would mandate that employers inform workers when an employee has contracted a disease related to the state of emergency and of a worker's potential exposure to disease; * Would prevent employers from retaliating or discriminating against an essential worker for reporting any unsafe work environment; * Certain large employers would also be required to cover the costs of any child care or health care needed by essential workers during the duration of the state of emergency and pay essential workers a payment that is a percentage or a fixed dollar amount, set by the Labor Commis- sioner. The benefit would be capped at:$25,000 for workers earning less than $200,000 per year and at $5,000 for those earning more than $200,000. Small businesses, manufacturers, and non-profits would be exempt from this requirement.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new bill in the Assembly.   FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately. ://www_washingtonpostcomibusines/2020104116/ osha-cdronavirus-com- plaintst Scanned with CarnScanner
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AB10437 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          10437
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 11, 2020
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE  ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Rozic) --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
 
        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to establishing an  essential
          workers' bill of rights
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section  202-n  to
     2  read as follows:
     3    §  202-n.  Essential  workers'  bill of rights. 1. For the purposes of
     4  this section, "essential worker" means any employee  of  a  business  or
     5  entity providing essential services or functions during any state disas-
     6  ter  emergency  declared  pursuant to article two-B of the executive law
     7  and designated as an essential worker pursuant to any law,  rule,  regu-
     8  lation  or executive order including but not limited to essential health
     9  care operations including research and  laboratory  services;  essential
    10  infrastructure  including  utilities,  telecommunication,  airports  and
    11  transportation infrastructure; essential manufacturing,  including  food
    12  processing  and  pharmaceuticals;  essential  retail  including  grocery
    13  stores and pharmacies; essential services  including  trash  collection,
    14  mail,  and  shipping  services;  news media; banks and related financial
    15  institutions; providers of basic necessities to  economically  disadvan-
    16  taged populations; construction; vendors of essential services necessary
    17  to  maintain  the  safety,  sanitation and essential operations of resi-
    18  dences or other essential businesses;  vendors  that  provide  essential
    19  services  or products, including logistics and technology support, child
    20  care and services needed to ensure the continuing operation  of  govern-
    21  ment  agencies  and  provide  for  the health, safety and welfare of the
    22  public.
    23    2. During a state disaster emergency, all employers of essential work-
    24  ers shall adopt and implement the following essential workers'  bill  of
    25  rights  which  shall be distributed to essential workers, made available
    26  on each employer's website, and shall include links  or  information  to
    27  file  a  report  and  seek  a  response  from such employer or the state
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16175-03-0

        A. 10437                            2
 
     1  regarding any unsafe work environment or failure to  meet  the  require-
     2  ments of this section:
     3    (a)  all  employers  shall  provide  essential  workers  with adequate
     4  personal protective equipment and products at no cost to  such  workers,
     5  including  but not limited to hand sanitizer, medical or surgical masks,
     6  medical or surgical gloves, disposable gowns and any other equipment  or
     7  product  identified  in emergency regulations promulgated by the commis-
     8  sioner, in consultation with the commissioner of health;
     9    (b) all employers shall inform essential workers when an employee  has
    10  contracted  a  disease related to such state disaster emergency and of a
    11  worker's potential exposure to disease; and
    12    (c) no employer shall retaliate or discriminate against  an  essential
    13  worker for reporting any unsafe work environment.
    14    3. (a) For the purposes of this subdivision:
    15    (i) "employer" means a formula retail store, large employer, transpor-
    16  tation  business, or franchisee or subcontractor, and includes any indi-
    17  vidual, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability  compa-
    18  ny,  business  trust,  legal  representative,  or any organized group of
    19  persons acting as such an employer;
    20    (ii) "formula retail store" means any employer that operates a  retail
    21  sales or restaurant establishment either directly or through franchisees
    22  and  that,  along  with  eleven or more other retail sales or restaurant
    23  establishments located in the United States, maintains two  or  more  of
    24  the  following  features:  (A)  a  standardized  array of merchandise, a
    25  standardized facade, a standardized decor and color  scheme,  a  uniform
    26  apparel, standardized signage, a trademark; or (B) a servicemark;
    27    (iii) "large employer" means any employer that has annual gross reven-
    28  ue  of  fifty  million  dollars  or  more,  but shall not include (A) an
    29  employer whose principal industry is manufacturing; or  (B)  a  not-for-
    30  profit  organization.  An  employer shall be deemed to have annual gross
    31  revenue of fifty million dollars or more if it had revenue at or exceed-
    32  ing that level in any of the past three fiscal or calendar years;
    33    (iv) "manufacturing" means the process of working raw  materials  into
    34  products  suitable for use or which gives new shapes, new quality or new
    35  combinations to matter which has already gone  through  some  artificial
    36  process  by  the  use  of machinery, tools, appliances, or other similar
    37  equipment;
    38    (v) "not-for-profit organization" means an entity exempt from taxation
    39  under section 501(c)(3) of the federal internal revenue code;
    40    (vi) "transportation business" means any industry, business, or estab-
    41  lishment operated for the purpose of conveying persons or property  from
    42  one  place  to  another whether by rail, highway, air, or water, and all
    43  operations and services in connection therewith; and
    44    (vii) "franchisee or subcontractor" means any employer  that  operates
    45  under a franchise agreement with a formula retail store or large employ-
    46  er,  or that provides services, including but not limited to janitorial,
    47  maintenance, security, staffing, passenger services, food  services,  or
    48  temporary  services to a formula retail store, large employer, or trans-
    49  portation business.
    50    (b) An employer meeting the requirements  of  this  subdivision  shall
    51  also include in its essential workers' bill of rights:
    52    (i)  hazard  payments for its essential workers. An employer of essen-
    53  tial workers shall make such hazard payments at  the  direction  of  the
    54  commissioner.  Such  payment  shall  be  a  percentage or a fixed dollar
    55  amount, as prescribed by the commissioner, provided, however, no  hazard
    56  payment  shall  exceed  twenty-five thousand dollars in any year for any

        A. 10437                            3
 
     1  essential worker earning less than two hundred thousand dollars per year
     2  or five thousand dollars for any essential worker earning more than  two
     3  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Such  payments  shall be in addition to and
     4  shall  not  be  part  of  an essential worker's basic annual salary, and
     5  shall  not  affect  or  impair  any  performance  advancement  payments,
     6  performance  awards,  longevity  payments or other rights or benefits to
     7  which an essential worker may be entitled. A  hazard  payment  shall  be
     8  terminated upon the cessation of the state disaster emergency; and
     9    (ii)  payment  of the costs of any child care or health care needed by
    10  such essential workers for the duration of the state disaster emergency.
    11    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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