The New York Worker Safety Act was signed into law on September 5, 2024. The new law is intended to increase worker safety and address the hazards of workplace violence in the retail settings. The law goes into effect on March 1, 2025, giving employers time to develop their plan and complete the required education as directed within the Act.
Who is included and what is required
A retail employer is considered an individual, an entity, business corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or an association with retail employees that sells consumer commodities. The Act excludes entities who are primarily engaged in the sale of food for consumption on the premises.
The Act requires retail employers with at least ten employees to adopt a written workplace violence prevention policy, assess for potential workplace violence hazards and provide workplace violence prevention training that meets or exceeds the New York State Model Workplace Violence Prevention Program.
Workplace violence hazards can include working late or early morning hours, exchanging money with the public and working alone or in small numbers.
The required training must be interactive and delivered upon hire and annually thereafter. The training, at a minimum must include:
- How to report workplace violence through the internal reporting system. If the worker believes the report was not resolved internally, they can file a complaint with the Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) Bureau. In cases of imminent danger, workers should contact the local law enforcement agency.
- A clear statement within the workplace violence policy that employees will not face retaliation for reporting workplace violence.
- Techniques employees can use to protect themselves when faced with workplace violence situations including de-escalation tactics and active shooter safety training.
- Emergency procedures including a site-specific list of emergency exits and meeting places in case of an emergency.
- Instructions on the use of security alarms.
Employers with 500 or more retail employees nationwide will be required to provide panic buttons, a wearable device or phone-based panic buttons throughout their workplace by January 1, 2027. The panic device will alert the local 911 emergency system and relay the employee’s location and dispatch local law enforcement to the site.
The Workplace Violence and Security Team at WTW is here to help you comply with the New York Retail Worker Safety Act.
