9/11 Notice Act
Help Your Employees Affected by 9/11
Was your company located in Lower Manhattan, south of Houston Street, on 9/11 or in the eight months that followed? A new law requires NYC businesses to notify employees who worked in the 9/11 exposure zone of their potential eligibility for government benefits.
The signing of the legislation, passed unanimously by the State Senate and Assembly in 2023 and introduced by Assemblyman Nader Sayegh (D-Dist. 90 Yonkers) and Senator Brian Kavanagh (D-Dist. 27 Manhattan), will ensure that individuals who were in the Lower Manhattan and northern Brooklyn exposure zones between September 2001 and the end of May 2002 are made aware by employers of their rights to register for protection.
69 cancers have been scientifically-linked to 9/11 including breast, prostate and blood cancers.
Under the 9/11 Notice Act, employers must inform past and present employees who were in the 9/11 exposure zone about their potential eligibility for free health care and compensation through the World Trade Center Health Program and the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. Notifications can be sent via email, text, or mail, with proof of delivery retained for three years.
Let us help you protect your employees and comply with the law. Click here to register for our free 9/11 Health Webinar for HR Professionals on March 11, 2025.
The 9/11 Exposure Zone is a defined area of Lower Manhattan extending south from Houston Street and covering a 1.5 mile radius around the Ground Zero attack site. This zone is made up of two overlapping areas that determine which program a 9/11 victim could be eligible for:
World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program eligibility starts at Houston Street and extends south covering a 1.5 mile radius around the Ground Zero. A part of western Brooklyn, NY is included in this area.
9/11 Victim Compensation Fund eligibility is an area defined as south from Canal Street and west of Clinton Street, covering all of Lower Manhattan south of those boundaries.
The act will help to inform many of the 400,000 survivors – people who worked in Lower Manhattan on or after 9/11 – about their right to access the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program and the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF).
All of the survivors have an increased risk of developing 69 different types of cancer and many severe respiratory illnesses.
Many of the downtown workers have since moved away from the New York City area and are unaware of their right to access the WTC Health Program and the 9/11 VCF.
Barasch & McGarry Managing Partner, Michael Barasch, who represents more than 40,000 members of the 9/11 community, worked closely with Assemblyman Nader Sayegh and Senator Brian Kavanagh to develop the legislation and advocate for its enactment.
Let us help you protect your employees and comply with the law. Click here to register for our free 9/11 Health Webinar for HR Professionals on March 11, 2025.
To read the text of the 9/11 Notice Act, click here.
