New York Takes Action to Prevent Violence in Retail

New York has enacted legislation (Assembly Bill A8947C), which will require certain retail employers to take action to help prevent workplace violence and to install panic buttons. Assembly Bill A8947C's workplace prevention requirements take effect on March 4, 2025. The panic button requirements take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.

The details

The Retail Worker Safety Act (the Act) requires employers with 10 or more retail employees to implement a workplace violence prevention policy and provide training and notice on workplace violence prevention to employees. The Act also requires panic buttons for employers with 500 or more retail employees.

Note: The Act defines a retail employee as an individual who works at a store that sells consumer commodities at retail and is not primarily engaged in selling food for consumption on the premises. A workplace is defined as a location away from an employee's home (permanent or temporary) where an employee performs a work-related duty in the course of employment by their employer.

Policy Requirements

Effective March 4, 2025, employers with 10 or more retail employees must:

• Adopt either the state's model workplace violence prevention plan (to be updated by the state every four years beginning in 2027) or a custom policy that meets or exceeds the state model's minimum requirements.

The New York model policy will:

• Clearly state that it is unlawful to retaliate against an individual who: 1) complains of workplace violence or the presence of factors or situations in the workplace that might place a retail employee at risk of workplace violence; or 2) testifies or assists in a proceeding under the law.
• Outline factors or situations that might put retail employees at risk of workplace violence, such as working alone, in small numbers, late at night or early morning hours; exchanging money with the public; or uncontrolled access to a workplace.
  
  
• List ways for employers to help prevent incidents of workplace violence, such as creating and implementing reporting systems for incidents of workplace violence.
  
  
• Have federal and state statutory provision information (including a statement that there may be applicable local laws) regarding violence against retail employees and the remedies available to such victims.
  
  

Training Requirements

Employers must:

• Train on workplace violence prevention using the state's model training program or a custom program that meets or exceeds the state's model training program.
  
  
• Provide the training to all retail employees upon hire and annually thereafter.
  
  
• The training program must be interactive and include:
  
  

Employer Notice Requirements

Beginning March 4, 2025, covered employers must provide every employee upon hire and annually at each workplace violence prevention training thereafter:

• A copy of the written workplace violence prevention plan;
• A notice in writing (in English and the employee’s primary language) that contains the employer's retail workplace violence prevention policy and the information presented at the workplace violence prevention training program; and
• A site-specific list of emergency exits and meeting places in case of emergency.

Panic Buttons

Under the law, beginning Jan.  1, 2027, employers with 500 or more retail employees nationwide must provide access to panic buttons throughout their workplaces. If an employer chooses to use wearable or mobile phone-based panic buttons, the employer must provide the panic buttons to each of its retail employees.

Note: Mobile phone-based panic buttons must only be installed on employer-provided equipment, and wearable and mobile phone-based panic buttons cannot be used to track employee locations (except when the panic button is triggered).

Next steps

• Employers with 10 or more retail employees should review and update workplace safety policies, procedures, and trainings to help ensure compliance with Assembly Bill A8947C by March 4, 2025.
  
  
• Employers with 500 or more retail employees nationwide should ensure panic buttons are installed by Jan.  1, 2027.
  
  
• All covered employers should monitor the New York Workplace Violence Prevention site for updates.