NYS has officially enacted the Retail Worker Safety Act, a sweeping new law aimed at improving safety for retail employees amid a rise in workplace violence and theft.
The law, signed in 2024, applies to retail businesses with 10 or more employees in New York and imposes a series of new safety requirements.
By June 2nd 2025, qualifying businesses must implement a written workplace violence prevention policy and begin providing interactive safety training to employees. This training must cover de-escalation techniques, active-shooter scenarios, emergency response protocols, and alarm usage, with recurring sessions based on company size.
A key feature of the legislation is a panic button mandate for large retailers. Any company with 500 or more employees nationwide must equip each retail location in New York with a panic or silent response button by January 1, 2027. These buttons can be wearable, fixed, or app-based and are designed to alert security or emergency responders discreetly during threatening situations. While the law is backed by labor unions and worker advocacy groups, major retailers including Walmart have pushed back, citing high costs and concerns about false alarms and employee tracking.
The New York Department of Labor released information on May 30th outlining compliance guidance, model policies, and training tools in multiple languages to assist businesses. As the implementation deadlines approach, retailers are urged to begin preparations now to ensure compliance and enhance worker protection in an increasingly volatile retail environment.
Access to the Retail Workplace Violence Prevention Policy and Training documents can be found here.
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For more information or any questions on the Retail Worker Safety Act reach out to our Risk Management Team.
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