Bill > H1311

This bill mandates that health clubs must have at least one Automated External Defibrillator (AED), a portable device that can analyze a person's heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock if needed to restore a normal heartbeat, on their premises and have at least one trained employee or volunteer present during staffed hours to operate it. Health clubs will also be required to develop and make publicly available written emergency response plans, and the AEDs must be kept in secure, easily accessible, well-marked locations near a communication line. The bill also provides liability protection for health clubs and their employees regarding the use or non-use of defibrillators, shielding them from lawsuits unless there is gross negligence or willful misconduct, and extends similar protections to individuals who Good Faith attempt to provide emergency care, including defibrillation, without compensation. Importantly, smaller health clubs with five or fewer full-time equivalent employees (defined as 40 labor hours per week) will have an additional year to comply with these new AED requirements, while larger clubs will have one year from the bill's effective date.