New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Retail Worker Safety Act into law last week, which is designed to enhance workplace safety for retail workers. Here's what the new bill entails:
- Corporate retail employers with over 10 employees must now adopt a violence prevention plan and train workers in de-escalation and active shooters, effective Mar 1, 2025. What a sad state of affairs when retail workers have to be trained on what to do in an active shooter scenario.
- The Department of Labor will develop templates for the violence prevention policy and trainings to facilitate employer compliance.
- Retailers with more than 500 employees statewide, like Walmart, are now required to install panic buttons throughout their stores by Jan 1, 2027, marking a first of its kind requirement among U.S. states.
- The panic buttons must be easily accessible throughout the building or they can be wearable (like a panic watch) or part of a mobile-device carried by the employee.
- Retailers must maintain records of violent incidents for at least three years. Of course, each individual retailers' definition of “violent” could vary, just like how Amazon's definition of a “serious injury” can vary (see story #2).
Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, said, “Working to stop retail violence and theft has been a centerpiece of the Governor’s work this legislative session, and with her signature on the Retail Worker Safety Act, our members, retail workers across the state, and shoppers will be safer. The preventative measures this law provides will help stop violence and harassment before it starts, but even more importantly, will more safely assist workers in getting help quickly in the event of an emergency.”
Walmart, the National Retail Federation, and the Food Industry Alliance previously opposed the new law. Walmart specifically argued against the panic button idea, citing concerns about the likelihood of false alarms, while the others expressed concerns about the costs.