New York: 'Retail Worker Safety Act' Introduced
Effective: March 4th, 2025
New York is implementing workplace violence prevention requirements for retail employers. Effective March 4th, 2025, employers with at least ten employees working in retail will have to follow the requirements of the Retail Worker Safety Act.
This law requires employers to establish a workplace violence prevention policy, or follow the state’s model policy. They will also have to establish a training program if they do not wish to use the state’s model program.
In addition, employers will have to provide employees with a site-specific list of emergency exits or meeting places, as well as a notice in the employee’s primary language containing information about their policy and training program.
On January 1st, 2027, large employers with 500 or more employees working in retail must provide accessible panic buttons, which is defined as a button that automatically calls 911 when pressed, and provides the public safety answering point with employee location information and dispatches law enforcement to the worksite.
New York is often the first to implement laws that are later adopted by other states, so non-New York employers should keep an eye out to see if their state or states of operation put similar laws into effect.
You can find the retail Worker Safety Act here.
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