Submission Date:
Question:
It's January 6, 2022, and I am trying to pinpoint what libraries are obligated to do for employees with regard to COVID safety measures. Are employers still required to provide safety implements such as masks to their employees and encourage social distancing? What about providing testing kits at no cost to employees? There is so much information that it's overwhelming and while https://forward.ny.gov/ is helpful, there is a lot to sift through.
Answer:
Here we are in January, 2022, and frustratingly, there is no ONE right answer to this question.[1] Between OSHA, CDC, WHO, and NYSDOH, together with state-wide and local Executive Orders and states of emergency, the answer to this question is a big, tangled web.
That said, there are THREE things I can say for certain, and they do answer this question:
1. Regardless of what Emergency Order, law, or regulation is in effect, libraries and museums that are operating in any way should be doing so per a written and routinely updated Safety Plan.[2]
2. Regardless of what Emergency Order, law, or regulation is in effect, libraries and museums operating under a Safety Plan that involves use of PPE and sanitization supplies should provide that equipment.[3] Libraries relying on social distancing should continue to demarcate areas where it must be maintained.
3. Regardless of what Emergency Order, law, or regulation is in effect, libraries and museums operating under a written Safety Plan that involves employer-required testing must provide those tests.[4]
Again: while different laws, regulations, and orders create these three obligations, I can say that they remain.
After that, I can only say: when updating Safety Plans (which should either be done, or ruled out, monthly, and ad hoc as guidance changes), libraries should confirm their obligations with either their lawyer or their local health department.
For libraries looking for a model, a good place to start is the HERO Act template found at https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2021/09/p765-ny-hero-act-model-airborne-infectious-disease-exposure-prevention-plan-09-21_0.pdf. [NOTE: This link was confirmed as no longer active and removed on 02/25/2022 as part of the routine review of "Ask the Lawyer" materials.] For municipal libraries that operate largely in conjunction with their municipal government (sharing HR policies, hazard response plans, etc.), it might be appropriate to look to their municipality's mandated[5] "Public Health Emergency Operations Plan."
I realize this doesn't eliminate the need to swim in the alphabet soup of authorities offering different, and sometimes divergent, guidance. But by relying on your local health department to confirm obligations, hopefully a library can focus more energy on its mission to serve its community...while also demonstrably living up to its duty to safeguard its workforce.
[1] I can supply lots of answers, just not a one-size-fits all one. Whether it's OSHA, the NY HERO ACT, or currently suspended federal mandates,
[2] While different laws and regulations will govern the written plan, this is true for both private and quasi-governmental entities.
[3] While different laws and regulations will govern this obligation, this is true for both private and quasi-governmental entities.
[4] Examples of "employer-required testing" are: random tests of the workforce, required routine tests for those not vaccinated, and any other required testing built into an Employer's Safety Plan. Tests required by CDC, NYDOH, and local health department statements, such as the current recommendation by the CDC for fully vaccinated, asymptomatic people to test 5-7 days after a known exposure, are not "employer-required."
[5] By New York Public Health Law Section 27-c.
