On September 5, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the New York Retail Worker Safety Act into law. The law introduces comprehensive measures aimed at reducing workplace violence in retail settings. Depending on the size of their workforce, employers in the retail industry will need to implement specific measures to comply with the new law.
Covered Employers
The New York Retail Worker Safety Act applies to any non-governmental employer with at least 10 retail employees.
A retail employee is someone who works in a store that sells consumer commodities at retail. Stores that are primarily engaged in the sale of food for consumption on the premises do not qualify.
Key Requirements of the New York Retail Worker Safety Act
The new law includes policy and training requirements for all covered retail employers in New York. Large employers must also implement silent response buttons.
Workplace Violence Prevention Policy
All covered employers must establish a comprehensive workplace violence prevention policy that identifies potential risks and outlines strategies to mitigate them. Employees must receive a copy of the policy at the time of hire and at every required workplace violence prevention training. The New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL) will create a model workplace violence prevention policy to guide employers. Employers should use the templates as models for compliance.
Written Notice Requirement
Employers must provide their employees with written notice of the workplace violence prevention policy both when they are hired and during each training session.
Training Requirements
The law introduces mandatory training for all retail employees, with specific training timelines depending on the size of the employer.
- Employers with 50 or More Retail Employees must provide workplace violence prevention training to all employees upon hire and then annually.
- Employers with 10-49 Retail Employees must also provide workplace violence prevention training. But it only needs to be conducted upon hire and once every two years, instead of annually.
This training must be interactive and address a variety of safety topics critical to retail environments. It must include the following elements:
- Information on the requirements of the New York Retail Worker Safety Act.
- Examples of how employees can protect themselves in the event of workplace violence from customers or coworkers.
- De-escalation techniques to manage and reduce potentially violent situations.
- Active shooter drills to prepare for extreme scenarios.
- Emergency procedures that are specific to the retail environment.
- Instruction on the use of security alarms, silent response buttons, and other emergency devices.
- Training on supervisors’ additional responsibilities, including overseeing workplace-specific emergency procedures.
- Education on areas where there have been previous security incidents.
The NYS DOL is tasked with developing a model training program that employers can reference or adopt. This should help streamline compliance for employers by providing them with a ready-made framework for training their workforce. However, employers may create their own training program as long as it meets DOL standards.
The policy, training, and notice requirements take effect June 2, 2025.
Silent Response Button Requirement
Beginning January 1, 2027, employers with 500 or more retail employees statewide must provide a silent response button (or panic button) to all retail employees. These buttons allow employees to discreetly alert local authorities in the event of an emergency, such as violent incidents involving customers or coworkers.
Key Changes from the Original New York Worker Safety Bill
Upon her signing, Governor Hochul and the Legislature reached an agreement to modify the following aspects of the Act. These changes are expected to be included in a forthcoming amendment that should be in place before the law otherwise takes effect.
- In-Store Emergency Notification Mechanism (Silent Response Button)
The original bill required employers with 500 or more employees nationwide to provide panic buttons. The final version of the law now applies this requirement only to employers with 500 or more employees in New York State. - Training Frequency for Smaller Employers
In the original bill, all employers had to provide annual training. This timing will change, allowing employers with 10-49 retail employees to provide training every two years, instead of annually. This modification somewhat reduces the administrative burden for smaller businesses.
Looking Ahead
With the New York Retail Worker Safety Act now law, retail employers should begin reviewing their existing safety protocols and prepare for the upcoming deadlines. Employers with 10 or more retail employees should be ready to adopt workplace violence prevention policies and training programs by June 2, 2025. Those with 500 or more employees should also begin planning for the installation of silent response buttons before the January 1, 2027 deadline.
However, employers will likely need to wait until the NYS DOL issues the model templates for both workplace violence prevention policies and the training programs. Those templates will likely further establish the required (or at least recommended) elements of compliance with the law.
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