09/12/2024|3 minute read

Key Takeaways

• Starting March 4, 2025, retail employers with 10 or more employees in New York state must adopt and provide training on a plan to help their staff identify and prevent incidents of workplace violence.
• Beginning January 1, 2027, New York retailers with 500 or more employees nationwide will need to install panic buttons that can dispatch law enforcement.
• The New York State Department of Labor will soon publish a guidance document, a model policy and a model training program for the new requirements.

New York recently enacted the Retail Worker Safety Act (RWSA), which takes effect on March 4, 2025, requiring certain retail employers to develop and implement protocols aimed at preventing violence in the workplace. Among other things, employers will need to implement a violence prevention policy, inform employees of emergency procedures for situations like active shooters and train employees on de-escalation tactics.

Who Is Covered by the Law

The RWSA broadly defines a retail store as any store that "sells consumer commodities at retail and which is not primarily engaged in the sale of food for consumption on the premises" and applies to "any person, entity, business, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or […] association employing at least ten retail employees."

Violence Prevention Plan and Training

Under the RWSA, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) has been tasked with developing a retail workplace violence prevention guidance document and a model retail workplace violence prevention policy. Employers will be able to adapt the model policy to their workplace or prepare their own policy using the guidance document. According to the law, the model policy will:

1. Outline a list of factors or situations in the workplace that might place retail employees at risk of violence, such as:
   • Working late-night or early-morning hours
   • Exchanging money with the public
   • Working alone or in small numbers
   • Working in a location with uncontrolled access
2. Outline methods the employer uses to prevent violence, including but not limited to establishing and implementing reporting systems for incidents of workplace violence.
3. Detail federal and state statutes concerning violence against retail workers and remedies available to victims of violence in the workplace, as well as a statement that there may be applicable local laws.
4. Include a statement that it is unlawful to retaliate against employees who complain of workplace violence or the presence of factors or situations in the workplace that might place retail employees at risk of violence, or who testify in order to assist in any proceeding under the law.

Employers are required to provide all new hires with a copy of their violence prevention policy and distribute it to all employees on an annual basis.

Employers not only need to prepare and distribute a workplace violence prevention policy, but they also must conduct violence prevention training with all new hires and annually thereafter. Like the model policy, the RWSA directs the NYSDOL to develop a model training program. Employers may utilize the model training program or establish their own training program as long as it meets or exceeds the minimum standards set forth by the NYSDOL. At a minimum, the trainings must be interactive and address:

1. Information about the RWSA
2. Measures employees can use to protect themselves when facing workplace violence from customers or coworkers
3. De-escalation tactics
4. Active shooter drills
5. Emergency procedures
6. Instruction on the use of security alarms, panic buttons and other related emergency devices
7. A list of emergency exits and meeting places in the workplace in the event of an emergency

Panic Buttons

In addition to the policy and training requirements applicable to retail employers with 10 or more employees, starting January 1, 2027, large retail employers - those with 500 or more employees nationwide - must also install panic buttons in easily accessible locations throughout the workplace. These panic buttons must be physical buttons that, when pressed, immediately contact local 911 operators to dispatch law enforcement to the workplace.

Alternatively, employers may elect to provide employees with wearable or cellphone-based panic buttons. If employers choose to utilize the phone-based panic button, each member of the staff must be provided with access to this technology, the panic button may only be installed on phones provided by the employer and employers are prohibited from using the panic button software to track employee locations except in the event of an emergency situation.

***

A follow-up alert will be issued after the NYSDOL develops its guidance document, model policy and model training program. Further, as the deadlines for the new requirements of the RWSA approach, the New York team within BakerHostetler's Labor and Employment Practice Group will be available to help advise employers on compliance, policy drafting and training services.

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.