Bill Text: NY A08947 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Establishes the retail worker safety act requiring retail worker employers to develop and implement programs to prevent workplace violence; directs the department of labor to produce a model workplace violence prevention training program; requires employers to provide training on such programs; requires the installation of panic buttons at certain workplaces or wearable or mobile phone-based panic buttons to be provided.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 38-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-05 - approval memo.6 [A08947 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08947-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         8947--C
                                                                Cal. No. 468

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 30, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. REYES, SHRESTHA, LEVENBERG, ZINERMAN, SIMONE,
          ARDILA, OTIS,  FORREST,  GIBBS,  STECK,  HEVESI,  GALLAGHER,  CARROLL,
          GONZALEZ-ROJAS,  MAMDANI,  BURDICK,  BURGOS,  BORES,  JACOBSON,  CRUZ,
          TAYLOR,  DARLING,  CLARK,  KIM,  COLTON,  CUNNINGHAM,  SIMON,   TAPIA,
          PHEFFER AMATO,  EPSTEIN,  RAGA,  LAVINE, SHIMSKY, JEAN-PIERRE, KELLES,
          L. ROSENTHAL, WEPRIN, SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Labor -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered  reprinted
          as  amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged,
          bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
          committee  -- reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
          -- reported from committee, advanced to a third reading,  amended  and
          ordered reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading

        AN  ACT  to  amend the labor law, in relation to requiring retail worker
          employers to develop  and  implement  programs  to  prevent  workplace
          violence

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be  cited  as  the  "retail
     2  worker safety act".
     3    §  2. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 27-e to read as
     4  follows:
     5    § 27-e. Prevention of retail workplace violence. 1.  Definitions.  For
     6  the purposes of this section:
     7    a.  "Employer"  means any person, entity, business, corporation, part-
     8  nership, limited liability company, or an association employing at least
     9  ten retail employees. The term shall not include the  state,  any  poli-
    10  tical subdivision of the state, a public authority, or any other govern-
    11  mental agency or instrumentality.
    12    b.  "Retail  employee" means an employee working at a retail store for
    13  an employer.
    14    c. "Workplace" means any location away from  an  employee's  domicile,
    15  permanent or temporary, where an employee performs any work-related duty
    16  in the course of their employment by an employer.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13440-11-4

        A. 8947--C                          2

     1    d.  "Retail  store"  means  a store that sells consumer commodities at
     2  retail and which is not primarily  engaged  in  the  sale  of  food  for
     3  consumption on the premises.
     4    e. "Panic button" means a physical button that when pressed immediate-
     5  ly  contacts  the  local  9-1-1  public safety answering point ("PSAP"),
     6  provides that PSAP with employee location  information,  and  dispatches
     7  local  law  enforcement to the workplace. A panic button may be a button
     8  that is installed in an easily accessible location in the workplace,  or
     9  a wearable or mobile phone-based button.
    10    2. Written workplace violence prevention policy.  The department shall
    11  create and publish a model retail workplace violence prevention guidance
    12  document  and retail workplace violence prevention policy that employers
    13  may utilize in their adoption of a retail workplace violence  prevention
    14  policy  required  by  this section. Such model retail workplace violence
    15  prevention policy shall be publicly available and posted on the  website
    16  of the department.
    17    a. Such model retail workplace violence prevention policy shall:
    18    (i)  outline  a  list  of  factors or situations in the workplace that
    19  might place retail employees at risk of  workplace  violence,  including
    20  but not limited to:
    21    (A) working late night or early morning hours;
    22    (B) exchanging money with the public;
    23    (C) working alone or in small numbers; and
    24    (D) uncontrolled access to the workplace.
    25    (ii)  outline  methods  that employers may use to prevent incidents of
    26  workplace violence, including but not limited to establishing and imple-
    27  menting reporting systems for incidents of workplace violence;
    28    (iii) include information concerning the federal and state   statutory
    29  provisions  concerning  violence  against  retail  workers  and remedies
    30  available to victims  of violence in the workplace and a statement  that
    31  there may be applicable local laws; and
    32    (iv)  clearly  state that retaliation against individuals who complain
    33  of workplace violence or the presence of factors or  situations  in  the
    34  workplace  that  might  place  retail  employees  at  risk  of workplace
    35  violence, or who testify or assist in any proceeding under  the  law  is
    36  unlawful.
    37    b.  Every  employer  shall  adopt  the model retail workplace violence
    38  prevention policy promulgated pursuant to this subdivision, or establish
    39  a workplace violence prevention policy that equals or exceeds the  mini-
    40  mum   standards   provided  by  such  model  retail  workplace  violence
    41  prevention policy. Such  retail  workplace  violence  prevention  policy
    42  shall  be  provided  to  all employees in writing upon hire and annually
    43  thereafter pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision four of this section.
    44    3. Employee information and training.  a. The department, in consulta-
    45  tion with relevant groups as deemed necessary,  shall  produce  a  model
    46  workplace  violence  prevention  training  program. Every employer shall
    47  utilize the model workplace violence prevention training program  pursu-
    48  ant  to  this  subdivision  or establish a workplace violence prevention
    49  training program that equals or exceeds the minimum  standards  provided
    50  by  such model training program. The department's model training program
    51  shall be interactive and shall include, but not be limited to:
    52    (i) information on the requirements of this section;
    53    (ii) examples of measures retail employees can use  to  protect  them-
    54  selves  when  faced  with  workplace  violence  from  customers or other
    55  coworkers;
    56    (iii) de-escalation tactics;

        A. 8947--C                          3

     1    (iv) active shooter drills;
     2    (v) emergency procedures; and
     3    (vi)  instruction  on  the  use of security alarms, panic buttons, and
     4  other related emergency devices.
     5    b. The department shall include information in  such  model  workplace
     6  violence   prevention training program addressing conduct by supervisors
     7  and any additional   responsibilities for  such  supervisors,  including
     8  ways to address workplace specific emergency procedures, and training on
     9  areas of previous security problems.
    10    c.  As part of this training, every employer shall communicate to each
    11  employee a site-specific list of emergency exits and meeting  places  in
    12  case  of emergency. Such workplace violence prevention training shall be
    13  provided to all retail employees upon hire  and on an annual basis ther-
    14  eafter.
    15    4. Notice of policy. a. Every  employer  shall  provide  their  retail
    16  employees,  in writing in English and in the language identified by each
    17  employee as the primary language of such employee, at the time of hiring
    18  and at every annual  workplace  violence  prevention  training  provided
    19  pursuant  to subdivision three of this section, a notice containing such
    20  employer's retail workplace violence prevention policy and the  informa-
    21  tion presented at such employer's workplace violence prevention training
    22  program.
    23    b.  The commissioner shall prepare templates of the model retail work-
    24  place violence prevention  policy  created  and  published  pursuant  to
    25  subdivision  two  of  this  section  and  the  model  workplace violence
    26  prevention training program produced pursuant to  subdivision  three  of
    27  this  section.  The  commissioner  shall determine, in their discretion,
    28  which languages to provide in addition to English, based on the size  of
    29  the  New  York  state population that speaks each language and any other
    30  factor that the commissioner shall deem  relevant.  All  such  templates
    31  shall be made available to employers in such manner as determined by the
    32  commissioner.
    33    c.  When  an  employee identifies as their primary language a language
    34  for which a template is not available from the commissioner, the employ-
    35  er shall comply with this subdivision  by  providing  that  employee  an
    36  English-language notice.
    37    d.  An  employer shall not be penalized for errors or omissions in the
    38  non-English portions of any notice provided by the commissioner.
    39    5. Panic buttons. a. Every employer of five  hundred  or  more  retail
    40  employees  nationwide  shall  provide access to panic buttons throughout
    41  the workplace or workplaces; provided, however, if an  employer  chooses
    42  to  utilize  wearable or mobile phone-based panic buttons, such employer
    43  shall be required to provide such panic buttons to each of such  employ-
    44  er's retail employees.
    45    b.  Mobile  phone-based panic buttons may only be installed on employ-
    46  er-provided equipment, and wearable and mobile phone-based panic buttons
    47  shall not be used to track employee  locations  except  when  the  panic
    48  button is triggered.
    49    6. Rules and regulations. The commissioner shall adopt rules and regu-
    50  lations necessary to implement the  provisions of this section.
    51    7.  Evaluation  of  policy. Beginning in the year two thousand twenty-
    52  seven and every succeeding four years thereafter, the  department  shall
    53  evaluate,  using  the  criteria  within  this section, the impact of the
    54  current model retail workplace violence prevention guidance document and
    55  retail workplace violence prevention policy. Upon the completion of each
    56  evaluation the  department  shall  update  the  model  retail  workplace

        A. 8947--C                          4

     1  violence  prevention  guidance  document  and  retail workplace violence
     2  prevention policy as needed.
     3    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
     4  it  shall have become a law; provided that subdivision 5 of section 27-e
     5  of the labor law, as added by section two this act,  shall  take  effect
     6  January  1, 2027.  Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
     7  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
     8  this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
     9  on or before such effective date.
feedback