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New York lawmakers recently passed a bill to relax and delay some of the requirements of the recently enacted Retail Worker Safety Act, which requires certain employers to adopt a violence prevention policy and train staff on ways to identify and prevent incidents of workplace violence.

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The effective date for the mandated policy, training and notice provisions has been moved from March 4 to June 2.

Smaller employers will be required to provide training only every two years instead of annually.

By Jan. 1, 2027, New York retailers that have 500 or more employees, a number that is now based on a statewide instead of a nationwide headcount, will be required to implement silent panic buttons that alert management or security officers on-site instead of law enforcement.

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After enacting <a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/insights/certain-new-york-retailers-must-now-establish-workplace-violence-prevention-programs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the Retail Worker Safety Act (the Act) just last year</a>, New York lawmakers passed a bill to amend the Act, which Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed into law. The Act, which applies to any store with 10 or more employees that “sells consumer commodities at retail and which is not primarily engaged in the sale of food for consumption on the premises,” is designed to prevent violence at retail stores. Once the Act is in effect, employers will be required to adopt and implement a violence prevention policy, inform employees of emergency procedures for situations like active shooters, and train employees on de-escalation tactics.

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Under the original version of the law, covered employers were required to adopt a violence prevention policy and begin providing staff with copies of the policy and training on preventing workplace violence beginning March 4. The amendments push back the effective date for those requirements to June 2. Additionally, employers with fewer than 50 employees will need to provide employees with training at the time of hire and every two years after that, rather than annually as under the previous version of the law.

In the interim, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) is expected to develop a model policy that will set the minimum standard for employer plans and develop a model training program. Under the amended version of the Act, the NYSDOL will issue model workplace violence prevention policies in English and 12 of the most commonly spoken languages in the state.

Before the recent amendments, New York retailers with 500 or more employees nationwide were required to install physical panic buttons throughout the workplace in easily accessible locations that, when pressed, immediately contact local 911 operators to dispatch law enforcement to the workplace. The revised Act now only requires retailers that have 500 or more employees in New York to provide each of their employees with a “silent response button.” Once pressed, these buttons must alert security officers, managers or supervisors rather than law enforcement. The silent response buttons can be installed in an easily accessible location in the workplace, or employers can provide buttons that employees can either wear or use on cellphones.    

As with the original version of the law, employers can only install silent response buttons on employer-provided equipment and cannot use this technology to track employee whereabouts, except in the event of an emergency after the button has been triggered. The deadline for covered employers to implement the silent response button remains the same – Jan. 1, 2027.

A follow-up post will be issued after the NYSDOL develops its guidance document and model policy and training. As the deadlines for the new requirements of the amended Retail Worker Safety Act approach, the New York team of BakerHostetler’s Labor and Employment Practice Group will be available to help advise employers on compliance, policy drafting and training services.

New York Amends the Retail Worker Safety Act

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