Article contributed by Alexander Soric, Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP
Recently, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the Retail Worker Safety Act (the “Act”). It requires certain New York retailers to adopt safety measures to address and prevent workplace violence.
This Worker Safety Act amends the New York Labor Law and imposes requirements to protect retail workers at small to large-scale retailers. Most of the Act’s requirements as currently enacted will go into effect on March 3, 2025.
However, when Gov. Hochul signed the Act into law, she issued an approval memorandum that confirmed the legislature would make some changes to the Act through a “chapter amendment” before it takes effect. One such change is that the Act’s effective date may be rescheduled to June 1, 2025.
Table of Contents
Who Does the Act Cover?
Covered employers include “any person, entity, business, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or an association employing at least ten retail employees.” The “retail employees” must work in a retail store that “sells consumer commodities.”
However, retailers who primarily sell food “for consumption on the premises” are excluded. In addition, employers of the state, any political subdivision of the state, a public authority, or any other governmental agency or instrumentality are also excluded from coverage.
What Does the Act Require?
The Worker Safety Act requires the adoption of a workplace violence prevention policy, annual workplace violence prevention training for employees, and the creation of a silent response button system employees can use to activate an alert if they believe they or a coworker is in an unsafe situation.
Workplace Violence Prevention Policy
As currently enacted, the Act requires by March 3, 2025, covered retail employers to create and distribute a workplace violence prevention policy to all retail employees. The policy must include the factors or situations that place retail employees at risk of workplace violence. The Act states that those situations include, at a minimum:
- Working late night or early morning hours
- Exchanging money with the public
- Working alone or in small numbers
- Uncontrolled access to the workplace
The policy must outline methods that employers may use to prevent incidents of workplace violence “including but not limited to establishing and implementing reporting systems for incidents of workplace violence.”
The policy also must include information about federal and state statutory provisions concerning violence against retail workers and remedies available to employees who are victims of workplace violence.
Finally, the policy must clearly state that retaliation against individuals who report workplace violence, raise concerns about situations that might put retail employees at risk of workplace violence, or who testify or assist in a legal proceeding relating to workplace violence is unlawful.
The policy must be provided in English and in the employee’s primary language upon hire and then at every annual workplace violence
prevention training.
Workplace Violence Prevention Training
Also effective on March 3, 2025, covered retail employers must establish an interactive workplace violence prevention training program that includes:
- information on the requirements under the Act
- examples of measures retail employees can use to protect themselves when faced with workplace violence from customers or coworkers
- de-escalation tactics
- active shooter drills
- emergency procedures
- instruction on the use of security alarms, silent response buttons, and other related emergency devices
- information addressing conduct by supervisors and any additional responsibilities for supervisors, including ways to address workplace specific emergency procedures
- training on areas of previous security problems.
Every employer is also required to notify each employee a site-specific list of emergency exits and meeting places in case of emergency.
Silent Response Buttons
Effective January 1, 2027, retail employers with more than 500 retail employees must additionally provide every retail employee with a “silent response button.”
An employer can also choose to provide wearable or mobile phone-based silent response buttons; however, they must be provided to each retail employee.
The Act further provides that mobile phone-based silent response buttons may only be installed on employer-provided equipment, and wearable silent response buttons cannot not be used to track employee locations, except when the silent response button is activated.
While the initial version of the Act specified that the silent response button provision applied to employers with 500 or more employees nationwide, under the chapter amendment, this requirement will only apply to employers with 500 or more retail employees in New York State.
The amendment also clarified that the silent response button must provide employees with the ability to “request immediate assistance from a security officer, manager, or supervisor.”
Finally, the amendment explains that employers can comply with this requirement by installing a silent response button “in an easily accessible location in the workplace” or by providing employees “a wearable or mobile phone-based button.”
Next Steps
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) will create a model workplace violence prevention policy and a model workplace violence prevention training program that employers may adopt. Both the model policy and training program will likely be published on the NYSDOL’s website. As of the date of this article, it is unclear when they will be published.
It is suggested the covered employers consult with their labor and employment counsel to continue to monitor the Act for any new guidance and updates to ensure compliance.
Alexander Soric is a partner at Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP in New York City and practices in the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group.
As a first chair, Mr. Soric represents management in labor relations, including in numerous arbitration hearings, collective bargaining, mediations and in matters before the National Labor Relations Board.
He has represented management in several class actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Davis-Bacon Act and State wage-hour matters in federal and state courts and in federal, state and local agencies. Alexander Soric can be reached at asoric@egsllp.com or via phone at 212-370-1300.
