---
type: "Bill"
title: "Requires public employers to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a declared public health emergency involving a communicable disease"
description: "Requires public employers to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a declared public health emergency involving a communicable disease which shall include identification of essential personnel, needed personal protective equipment, staggering work shifts and providing necessary technology for telecommuting."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ny"
legislature: "New York Legislature"
session: "2019-2020"
identifier: "S 8617"
citation: "New York S 8617 (2019-2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["GOUNARDES"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 19
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2020-06-22"
last_action: "2020-09-07"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d6f68656-aaac-4fb8-a17a-044768ab6cd8"
source_url: "http://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/S8617"
source_hash: "0893d7916777da237930bf4cfe7626a2c488a7e7b9dd2462b0e0ae4230f028a6"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ny"]
---

# New York S 8617 (2019-2020) — Requires public employers to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a declared public health emergency involving a communicable disease

Requires public employers to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a declared public health emergency involving a communicable disease which shall include identification of essential personnel, needed personal protective equipment, staggering work shifts and providing necessary technology for telecommuting.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **S8617** (committee substitute) — [source](http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?sh=printbill&bn=S8617&term=2019&Text=Y)
2. **S8617A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2019/S8617A)
3. **S8617B** (committee substitute) — [source](http://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2019/S8617B)

## Votes

- Rules Vote - Version: B — **19–0** (pass) · upper
- Floor Vote - Version: B — **58–2** (pass) · upper
- Labor Vote - Version: A — **12–1** (pass) · upper
- Assembly Vote — **141–0** (pass) · lower
- Finance Vote - Version: B — **22–1** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- GOUNARDES — primary (person)
- BAILEY — cosponsor (person)
- CARLUCCI — cosponsor (person)
- GAUGHRAN — cosponsor (person)
- HOYLMAN — cosponsor (person)
- KAPLAN — cosponsor (person)
- LIU — cosponsor (person)
- MAY — cosponsor (person)
- MYRIE — cosponsor (person)
- RAMOS — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2020-06-22** REFERRED TO RULES `referral-committee`
- **2020-07-13** COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO LABOR `referral-committee`
- **2020-07-15** AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO LABOR `referral-committee, amendment-passage`
- **2020-07-15** PRINT NUMBER 8617A `amendment-passage`
- **2020-07-17** AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO LABOR `referral-committee, amendment-passage`
- **2020-07-17** PRINT NUMBER 8617B `amendment-passage`
- **2020-07-20** REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE `referral-committee`
- **2020-07-21** REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO RULES `referral-committee`
- **2020-07-22** ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.930
- **2020-07-23** PASSED SENATE `passage`
- **2020-07-23** DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
- **2020-07-23** REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS `referral-committee`
- **2020-07-23** SUBSTITUTED FOR A10832
- **2020-07-23** ORDERED TO THIRD READING RULES CAL.349
- **2020-07-23** PASSED ASSEMBLY `passage`
- **2020-07-23** RETURNED TO SENATE
- **2020-09-07** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR `executive-receipt`
- **2020-09-07** SIGNED CHAP.168 `executive-signature`
- **2020-09-07** APPROVAL MEMO.7

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d6f68656-aaac-4fb8-a17a-044768ab6cd8`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New York legislature records).