STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8659
IN SENATE
March 28, 2022
___________
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to establishing safety meas-
ures for hoisting and requiring the commissioner of labor to promul-
gate rules and regulations pertaining to safety every ten years
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 256 to
2 read as follows:
3 § 256. Hoisting safety. 1. For the purposes of this section:
4 (a) "Active load stabilization mechanism" means any external device
5 attached to the bottom hook of a crane or similar lifting machine that
6 stabilizes any load with computerized control and human input in order
7 to enhance worker safety.
8 (b) "Passive load stabilization mechanism" means any external device
9 attached to the bottom hook of a crane or similar lifting machine that
10 uses the natural environment to manipulate any load with human input.
11 (c) "Fall zone" means the area, including, but not limited to, the
12 area directly beneath the load, in which it is reasonably foreseeable
13 that partially or completely suspended materials could fall in the event
14 of an accident.
15 (d) "Tilt-up or tilt-down operation" means raising or lowering a load
16 from horizontal to vertical or from vertical to horizontal.
17 (e) "Boom free fall" means that only the brake or clutch is used to
18 regulate the descent of the load line from an inclined spar, strut, or
19 other long structural member which supports the upper hoisting tackle on
20 a crane or derrick.
21 2. Where available, hoisting routes that minimize the exposure of
22 employees to hoisted loads shall be used, to the extent consistent with
23 public safety.
24 3. While the operator is not moving a suspended load, no employee
25 shall be within the fall zone, except for employees:
26 (a) engaged in hooking, unhooking or guiding a load;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15219-01-2
S. 8659 2
1 (b) engaged in the initial attachment of the load to a component or
2 structure; or
3 (c) operating a concrete hopper or concrete bucket.
4 4. When employees are engaged in hooking, unhooking, or guiding the
5 load in the initial connection of a load to a component or structure and
6 are within the fall zone, all of the following criteria must be met:
7 (a) if the materials being hoisted are under three thousand pounds and
8 the swing or spin of the load does not present a risk of critical injury
9 as determined by the project manager or safety engineer, a tagline or
10 other passive load stabilization mechanism shall be used to manually
11 stabilize the materials;
12 (b) if the materials being hoisted are over three thousand pounds or
13 present a risk of critical injury as determined by the project manager
14 or safety engineer, an active load stabilization mechanism shall be
15 used;
16 (c) the materials being hoisted shall be rigged to prevent uninten-
17 tional displacement;
18 (d) hooks with self-closing latches or their equivalent shall be used,
19 except that "J" hooks shall be permitted to be used for setting wooden
20 trusses; and
21 (e) the materials shall be rigged by a qualified rigger.
22 5. Only employees needed to receive a load shall be permitted to be
23 within the fall zone when a load is being landed.
24 6. During a tilt-up or tilt-down operation:
25 (a) no employee shall be directly under the load;
26 (b) only employees essential to the operation shall be permitted in
27 the fall zone, but shall not be permitted to be directly under the load.
28 An employee is essential to the operation if such employee is conducting
29 one of the following operations and the employer can demonstrate it is
30 infeasible for such employee to perform that operation from outside the
31 fall zone:
32 (i) physically guide the load;
33 (ii) closely monitor and give instructions regarding the load's move-
34 ment; or
35 (iii) either detach the load from or initially attach the load to
36 another component or structure, such as, but not limited to, making an
37 initial connection or installing bracing.
38 7. Boom free fall is prohibited when an employee is in the fall zone
39 of the boom or load, and load line free fall is prohibited when an
40 employee is directly under the load.
41 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 27 of the labor law is amended by adding
42 a new paragraph g to read as follows:
43 g. The commissioner shall, every ten years, promulgate rules and regu-
44 lations, or amend existing rules and regulations relating to outdated
45 and unsafe technologies with the best available technologies at the time
46 of such promulgation or amendment. In developing such rules and regu-
47 lations, the commissioner shall:
48 (i) Contract occupational health professionals, industrial safety
49 engineers, and mechanical engineers to provide expert assistance in the
50 replacement of outdated standards; and
51 (ii) Conduct public hearings on new regulations where businesses,
52 unions, and members of the general public have the opportunity to speak
53 on proposals, provide recommendations, and add amendments.
54 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
