Retail theft has become a major concern in New York City, with incidents not only on the rise (up 64% when comparing 2019 to 2023), but increasingly involving violence or threats.
It’s a situation that has attracted the attention of legislators, leading to a new law—The Retail Worker Safety Act—which applies to businesses with at least 10 retail employees, not including restaurants or stores “primarily engaged in the sale of food for consumption on premises.”
Key Provisions
Signed into law by New York Governor Kathy Hochul on September 4, 2024, the Retail Worker Safety Act goes into effect on March 3, 2025. The new law is similar in scope to California’s recent workplace violence law and requires training in addition to other steps designed to protect employees and customers, including documenting and responding to all incidents of violence that occur in the workplace. Employees must receive training upon hire and annually thereafter.
Employers must also develop a workplace violence prevention policy and the New York Department of Labor will be publishing a model policy that employers can use as a template. Policies must include the identification of workplace violence risks like working late hours, handling money, or working alone; identify methods to mitigate these risks; and ensure employee protection from retaliation when reporting safety concerns.
Retail employers with 500 or more employees will also be required to install panic buttons throughout their workplaces starting January 1, 2027.
Implications for New York Retailers
With the passing of this law employers in New York will have a greater responsibility for preventing workplace violence and ensuring employee safety.
In addition to creating a policy, employers will be responsible for providing annual training and will need to establish methods of tracking policy distribution, training completion, and overall compliance with the Act.
Despite the requirements and added burdens for employers, there are some definite benefits to the training mandate for employers and employees.
Benefits of the Training Mandate
Offering violence awareness and response training for employees will help to enhance their skills, improve employee safety and, ultimately, reduce the number of incidents and related violence. Employees will gain important skills for de-escalation and emergency response which they can also use outside the workplace.
An enhanced commitment to safety can also help to enhance workplace culture, leading to higher employee engagement, satisfaction, and longevity.
For employers, proactive violence prevention measures can help reduce both financial and reputational risk, as well as avoid potential penalties and legal risks.
Still, employers will face some challenges related to the new law and its mandates.
Challenges
Meeting the requirements of the law will require both time and financial investment. Even with a policy template, tailoring the policy to meet unique business needs can be complex. In addition, keeping up with annual training requirements and potential updates and changes to the law will require ongoing attention. Ensuring that all employees take the training seriously and retain the information so that it can be applied may also prove to be a challenge.
Solution
EVERFI can help address these challenges and provide retail employers with trusted resources to ensure that they are both meeting the requirements of the Act and providing employees with the information and training they need to ensure their safety at work.
Our approach to preventing workplace violence training encourages learners to be mindful, rather than fearful, of the risks of violence. We’ve updated our course to address training compliance standards for NY-based retail employees in alignment with the Retail Worker Safety Act and are ready to assist New York retailers in ensuring compliance and readiness.
With the March 3rd implementation date approaching, have you considered what is needed to make sure your workplace violence training meets these new requirements? Click here to learn more about EVERFI’s courses on this topic.