We wanted to remind New York employers that, starting January 1, 2025, if they employ directly or indirectly at least 100 employees at a single warehouse distribution center or at least 1,000 employees at one or more warehouse distribution centers in New York State, they must develop formal programs to identify and minimize the risks of musculoskeletal injuries.

The program must include the following components:

• Worksite Evaluation: Covered employers must engage a qualified ergonomist to evaluate jobs for risk factors causing musculoskeletal injuries, review and update evaluations annually, correct identified risks within 30 days, and provide evaluations to employees upon request.
• Control of Exposures: Covered employers must consider engineering and administrative controls, redesign workstations and tools, provide adjustable fixtures, document actions taken to minimize risks, and make these records available to employees and their representatives upon request.
• Employee Training: Covered employers must provide injury reduction training to all manual materials handling employees during work hours, covering injury symptoms, risk factors, prevention methods, employee rights, and anti-retaliation policies in a language they understand annually, including supervisors.
• On-site Medical and First Aid Practices: Warehouses must staff on-site medical stations per New York State requirements, have professionals observe manual material jobs and risks, allow employees to choose their physician, and get an annual compliance evaluation with treatment protocols in employees’ languages.
• Employee Involvement: The injury reduction program must involve employees and their representatives in its development and implementation and gather recommendations on reducing risk factors from those performing manual materials handling tasks.

For additional information:

• New York to have the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Program Maybe Soon (VensureHR)

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