New York City recently enacted new construction safety training legislation that established a program to provide equal access to construction site safety training (SST) for workers, in addition to existing federal, state and local requirements. On Oct. 16, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed Local Law 196, formerly known as New York City’s Local Law Int. No. 1447-C, which amended certain provisions of the Administrative Code of the City of New York and the New York City Building Code. New York City, N.Y., Local Law No. 196 Int. No. 1447-C, Preamble and §22-509 (2017) (Local Law 196).
The new legislation was enacted for the purpose of ensuring that construction site workers have equal access to critical safety training at no cost to workers. Local Law 196, at §22-509; §28-112.12; §28-204.1.1. While the legislation will impact construction contractors, site owners, workers and the legal bar alike, companies that generally do not cover the cost of such training (such as those utilizing non-union and day laborers) may be affected to a greater extent.
