Starting December 12, 2026, many New York employers must keep an opioid antagonist, an overdose reversal medication, available at the workplace.
Governor Hochul signed the law in December 2025. A February 2026 amendment clarified that the medication must be available at the workplace but need not be in every first aid kit. The amendment also moved the effective date from June 2026 to December 2026. Some news accounts list December 13, 2026, but the official text of New York Labor Law §27-f on the New York State Senate’s website states that the law is effective December 12, 2026.
Who Is Covered
The law applies to private employers that federal OSHA standards require to keep first aid supplies readily available. In practice, most employers, including offices, are covered. Government employers are exempt.
The Proposed Regulations
On September 23, 2026, the New York Department of Labor (NY DOL) published proposed regulations. Comments are due by November 23, 2026. The rules may change and will take effect only when the final version is published.
Key points include:
- No fixed number of doses: Employers must keep a “sufficient number” of doses to respond quickly to a suspected overdose. They should consider the workplace’s size and layout, how many people are on-site, whether higher risk populations are present, the nature of the work, and any prior overdoses.
- Accessible placement: The medication must be kept in easily accessible areas. Someone retrieving it generally should not have to pass through several doorways, hallways, or stairways. Locked storage of the primary supply is discouraged unless there is a reasonable security or safety concern, and even then employers must take all available measures to ensure quick access. Employers must tell employees where the supply is kept.
- Storage and upkeep: The medication must stay sealed in its original packaging with instructions. Employers must inspect the supply regularly and promptly replace doses that are expired, tampered with, or missing. They should replace used doses as soon as possible and must properly dispose of used or expired medication. The proposal does not include an inspection schedule.
- At least one trained employee: Employers should try to recruit volunteers, but they must always have at least one trained employee on-site during business hours. Training must be consistent with New York health department materials. It should cover recognizing an overdose, administering the medication, contacting first responders, and New York’s Good Samaritan protections.
- Shared workplaces: Employers that share a workplace may comply jointly under a written plan.
- No recordkeeping requirement: The proposal requires no records or reports. Even so, documenting how the employer made its decisions is prudent.
Under New York’s Good Samaritan law, a person who voluntarily gives first aid without expecting payment generally is not liable unless grossly negligent. The new law treats giving an opioid antagonist as first aid for this purpose.
Open Issues
The proposal has no safe harbor for an employer that tries to recruit volunteers but gets none. This matters because the trained employee requirement is mandatory. Employers with unionized workforces should also consider whether implementation triggers bargaining obligations, which neither the statute nor the proposed rule addresses.
What Employers Should Do Now
Before December 12, covered employers should consider engaging a qualified safety consultant to:
- assess how many doses are needed and where to place them
- recruit and train enough volunteers to ensure coverage at all times during business hours
- set a regular inspection schedule, and
- prepare employee communications, including where the medication is kept.
We will continue to monitor the rulemaking and provide an update when the NY DOL adopts final regulations. Stay tuned.
