Victory! United We Passed and Signed The Retail Worker Safety Act Into Law!

The Retail Worker Safety Act requires corporate retail employers to adopt a violence prevention plan and train workers in de-escalation and active shooters. Large employers will need to install panic buttons throughout the workplace. Retail workers need these fundamental protections! Which is why New York Legislators passed S. 8358B/A. 8947C and why RAP pushed for it’s passage along with the RWDSU.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Retail Worker Safety Act (RWSA) S. 8358B/A. 8947C into law on September 4, 2024. The Act requires corporate retail employers to adopt a violence prevention plan, train workers in de-escalation and active shooters, and large employers install silent response buttons throughout the workplace. For the retail workers toiling on the front lines, retail violence is a growing workplace issue that the administration put front and center this legislative session. The RWSA, which was spearheaded by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), centers on preventative action that puts protections for workers and shoppers in our retail stores into place before incidents happen. The real time solutions in this law will save lives and make shopping safer for all. More information about the Retail Worker Safety Act can be found at: rwdsu.org/retailworkersafety.

S. 8358B/A. 8947C says…

Employers must have the obligation to create a safe work environment by doing the following:

Employers with 10 or more employees must do the following to create a safe work environment:

1. Adopt a retail workplace violence prevention policy that identifies factors that put retail workers at risk of violence, and outlines methods to prevent violence.

2. Provide annual training for employees on de-escalation tactics, active shooter drills, emergency procedures, use of panic buttons and more.

3. The Department of Labor will develop templates for the violence prevention policy and trainings to facilitate employer compliance.

4. All retail employers with more than 500 employees statewide must install panic buttons at easily accessible locations throughout the building, or offer wearable or mobile-phone based panic buttons to all employees.

There is precedent for this program. The Retail Worker Safety Act builds on the public sector’s workplace violence protection law from 2006, while using the statutory framework of New York’s groundbreaking 2018 workplace sexual harassment protection law.