What's happening
The bill grants five extra paid days off to New York healthcare workers and first responders who served during early COVID-19 reopening phases.
Why it matters
Acknowledges specific sacrifices. The bill uniquely recognizes healthcare workers and first responders who served during the high-risk, early reopening phases of the pandemic, targeting benefits to those who worked at a particularly dangerous and uncertain time.
Broad, inclusive eligibility. The definition of “healthcare worker” covers a wide range of roles, from doctors and nurses to technicians, support staff, and others who had any direct or adjacent patient contact, ensuring the benefit reaches many frontline employees, not just a few professions.
Time-off flexibility and retention. The extra paid days off can be used over a two-year period (or longer, depending on when the state of emergency ended), giving recipients flexibility and preventing the bonus from being lost if unused in a single year.
Sets a precedent for future crises. By enacting this benefit into law, New York establishes a legislative framework for recognizing and compensating frontline workers in future public health emergencies, potentially shaping responses in other states or at the federal level.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Give Heroes More Paid Leave
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to governmental employees
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
11136
IN ASSEMBLY
November 6, 2020
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Perry) -read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to enacting "the COVID-19 extra time for heroes act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "the COVID-19 extra time for heroes act".
§ 2. The civil service law is amended by adding a new section 159-c to read as follows:
§ 159-c. COVID-19 emergency bonus time. 1. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article or of any general, special or local law to the contrary, any person subject to the provisions of this chapter who is employed as a certified first responder to perform regular services as a healthcare worker in a region and/or county of New York state during phase one and/or phase two of the reopening plan for the state relating to the novel coronavirus disease state disaster shall be awarded five additional days of paid personal time off. Such additional time shall carry forward into calendar years two thousand twenty-one and two thousand twenty-two and shall be available for use for the later of two years after the effective date of this section or one year after the end of the COVID-19 declared state of emergency.
(b) A person eligible for additional personal time off pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall only receive such additional time once.
2. As used in this section:
(a) "certified first responder" means:
(i) an individual who meets the minimum requirements established by regulations pursuant to section three thousand two of the public health law and who is responsible for the administration of initial lifesaving care of sick and injured persons; and
(ii) a police or peace officer involved in emergency calls involving the administration of initial lifesaving care to persons suspected of being infected with COVID-19; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD17414-02-0
A. 11136 2
(b) "healthcare worker" means any person working as a physician, nurse, registered professional nurse, licensed practical nurse, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse assistant, medical assistant, physician assistant, specialist assistant, pathologists' assistant, medical technician, respiratory therapy technician, medical technologist, diagnostic medical sonographer, phlebotomist, clinical support aid, immediate treatment assistant or other hospital staff person who had direct contact with patients or worked in areas immediately adjacent to patient rooms during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) state of emergency; and
(c) "Coronavirus disease state disaster" means the state disaster emergency declared pursuant to executive order two hundred two of two thousand twenty.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.