Employers will recognize these standards and model plans as
similar to the safety plans they were required to enact under the
New York Forward guidelines. For example, the standards require
employers to create plans for health screenings, face coverings,
physical distancing, hand hygiene, and cleaning and disinfection,
among other requirements. Although employers must adopt a
prevention plan by August 5, 2021,
the plans need not
actually go into effect until an airborne infectious disease is
designated by the New York State Commissioner of Health as a highly
contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of
harm to the public health. In other words, employers must