New York's Retail Worker Safety Act, which goes into effect on June 2, 2025, is one of the most expansive workplace violence prevention laws for retailers in the U.S. Like the California Workplace Violence Prevention Act, the New York law was passed in response to growing concerns about workplace violence, including homicides and intimidating conduct.
The Retail Worker Safety Act applies to employers with 10 or more retail employees. The law defines a retail employee as one who works in a store that "sells consumer commodities at retail and is not primarily engaged in the sale of food for consumption on the premises."
The Act further requires employers with 500 or more retail employees statewide to provide access to silent response buttons that request immediate assistance from a security officer, manager, or supervisor in case of an emergency. The silent response button requirement is the first of its kind in the U.S. for retail workers, and that section of the law goes into effect on January 1, 2027.
Covered employers must establish a workplace violence prevention policy. A compliant policy must:
Date: April 19, 2025 As Richmond County authorities continue to defend jailing a woman who was shot in the face, new details are emerging about the alleged violence and lies that put her behind ba...