Updated Nov. 12, 2026: This article now includes the law’s effective date and government guidance. The original July 1, 2025, reporting is preserved below.
New York businesses federally required to maintain workplace first-aid supplies must include naloxone or another opioid antagonist beginning Dec. 12, 2026, according to the New York City Department of Small Business Services.
The department’s Narcan Behind Every Bar guidance says the state law has passed. That changes the status described in this article’s original reporting, when the workplace requirement was still a proposal.
Which workplaces are covered?
The government guidance identifies covered businesses as those federally mandated by OSHA to maintain workplace first-aid supplies. It describes the requirement as including Narcan, a brand of naloxone, or another opioid antagonist among those supplies.
Naloxone can reverse an opioid overdose. The city guidance says the medication does not cause harm if no opioids are present.
Training and preparation resources
The city’s Narcan Behind Every Bar initiative brings overdose-prevention training and resources to nightlife and hospitality businesses. It is managed by the Department of Small Business Services’ Office of Nightlife in partnership with the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The government page links to online naloxone training and describes free, 30-minute in-person staff sessions offered by the Office of Nightlife. Those city sessions require at least 10 to 15 staff members, depend on scheduling availability and can provide up to five naloxone kits for a venue’s first-aid supplies. These are New York City program details; they do not establish the availability of equivalent services in the Finger Lakes.
The guidance confirms the deadline and general coverage but does not specify a required quantity for every covered workplace or provide a complete business-by-business compliance checklist. Businesses should consult the linked government information when assessing how the requirement applies to their workplace.
Original reporting: July 1, 2025
The following copy describes the proposal as reported at the time. Its conditional references to passage have been superseded by the update above.
A new proposal in New York could require opioid overdose medication in workplace first aid kits, according to Spectrum News 1. The bill mandates that any workplace already required to have a first aid kit under federal law would need to include naloxone, a drug that can reverse opioid overdoses.
This measure follows reports from 2023 that emergency responders in the state administered naloxone more than 21,000 times. Advocates say the requirement would both save lives and reduce the stigma around addiction, especially in environments where the risk of overdose might go unnoticed.
Lawmakers argue the medication is as essential as a fire extinguisher. If signed into law, New York could become a national example for workplace safety standards.
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