S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    740
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RAMOS  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to  requiring  retail  worker
   employers  to  develop  and  implement  programs  to prevent workplace
   violence; and to amend a chapter of the  laws  of  2024  amending  the
   labor law relating to requiring retail worker employers to develop and
   implement  programs  to  prevent  workplace  violence,  as proposed in
   legislative bills numbers S.  8358-C and A. 8947-C, in relation to the
   effectiveness thereof
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 27-e of the labor law, as added by a chapter of the
 laws  of 2024 amending the labor law relating to requiring retail worker
 employers  to  develop  and  implement  programs  to  prevent  workplace
 violence,  as  proposed  in  legislative  bills numbers S. 8358-C and A.
 8947-C, is amended to read as follows:
   § 27-e. Prevention of retail workplace violence. 1.  Definitions.  For
 the purposes of this section:
   a.  "Employer"  means any person, entity, business, corporation, part-
 nership, limited liability company, or an association employing at least
 ten retail employees. The term shall not include the  state,  any  poli-
 tical subdivision of the state, a public authority, or any other govern-
 mental agency or instrumentality.
   b.  "Retail  employee" means an employee working at a retail store for
 an employer.
   c. "Workplace" means any location away from  an  employee's  domicile,
 permanent or temporary, where an employee performs any work-related duty
 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.
                                                            LBD02670-01-5
 S. 740                              2
              

 
   d.  "Retail  store"  means  a store that sells consumer commodities at
 retail and which is not primarily  engaged  in  the  sale  of  food  for
 consumption on the premises.
   [e.  "Panic  button"  means  a physical button that when pressed imme-
 diately contacts the local 9-1-1 public safety answering point ("PSAP"),
 provides that PSAP with employee location  information,  and  dispatches
 local  law  enforcement to the workplace. A panic button may be a button
 that is installed in an easily accessible location in the workplace,  or
 a wearable or mobile phone-based button.]
   2. Written workplace violence prevention policy.  The department shall
 create and publish a model retail workplace violence prevention guidance
 document  and retail workplace violence prevention policy that employers
 may utilize in their adoption of a retail workplace violence  prevention
 policy  required  by  this section. Such model retail workplace violence
 prevention policy shall be publicly available and posted on the  website
 of the department.
   a. Such model retail workplace violence prevention policy shall:
   (i)  outline  a  list  of  factors or situations in the workplace that
 might place retail employees at risk of  workplace  violence,  including
 but not limited to:
   (A) working late night or early morning hours;
   (B) exchanging money with the public;
   (C) working alone or in small numbers; and
   (D) uncontrolled access to the workplace[.];
   (ii)  outline  methods  that employers may use to prevent incidents of
 workplace violence, including but not limited to establishing and imple-
 menting reporting systems for incidents of workplace violence;
   (iii) include information concerning the federal and state   statutory
 provisions  concerning  violence  against  retail  workers  and remedies
 available to victims  of violence in the workplace and a statement  that
 there may be applicable local laws; and
   (iv)  clearly  state that retaliation against individuals who complain
 of workplace violence or the presence of factors or  situations  in  the
 workplace  that  might  place  retail  employees  at  risk  of workplace
 violence, or who testify or assist in any proceeding under  the  law  is
 unlawful.
   b.  Every  employer  shall  adopt  the model retail workplace violence
 prevention policy promulgated pursuant to this subdivision, or establish
 a workplace violence prevention policy that equals or exceeds the  mini-
 mum   standards   provided  by  such  model  retail  workplace  violence
 prevention policy. Such  retail  workplace  violence  prevention  policy
 shall  be  provided  to  all employees in writing upon hire and annually
 thereafter pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision four of this section.
   3. Employee information and training.  a. The department, in consulta-
 tion with relevant groups as deemed necessary BY THE  DEPARTMENT,  shall
 produce  a  model  workplace violence prevention training program. Every
 employer shall utilize the model workplace violence prevention  training
 program  pursuant  to this subdivision or establish a workplace violence
 prevention training program that equals or exceeds the minimum standards
 provided by such model training program. The department's model training
 program shall be interactive and shall include, but not be limited to:
   (i) information on the requirements of this section;
   (ii) examples of measures retail employees can use  to  protect  them-
 selves  when  faced  with  workplace  violence  from  customers or other
 coworkers;
   (iii) de-escalation tactics;
 S. 740                              3
 
   (iv) active shooter drills;
   (v) emergency procedures; and
   (vi)  instruction  on  the use of security alarms[, panic] OR buttons,
 and other related emergency devices.
   b. The department shall include information in  such  model  workplace
 violence   prevention training program addressing conduct by supervisors
 and any additional   responsibilities for  such  supervisors,  including
 ways to address workplace specific emergency procedures, and training on
 areas of previous security problems.
   c.  As part of this training, every employer shall communicate to each
 employee a site-specific list of emergency exits and meeting  places  in
 case  of emergency. Such workplace violence prevention training shall be
 provided to all retail employees upon hire  and on an annual basis ther-
 eafter. EMPLOYERS COVERED UNDER THIS SECTION EMPLOYING FEWER THAN  FIFTY
 RETAIL EMPLOYEES SHALL PROVIDE SUCH WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION TRAIN-
 ING UPON HIRE AND ONCE EVERY TWO YEARS THEREAFTER.
   4.  Notice  of  policy.  a.  Every employer shall provide their retail
 employees, in writing in English and in the language identified by  each
 employee as the primary language of such employee, at the time of hiring
 and  at  every  annual  workplace  violence prevention training provided
 pursuant to subdivision three of this section, a notice containing  such
 employer's  retail workplace violence prevention policy and the informa-
 tion presented at such employer's workplace violence prevention training
 program.
   b. The commissioner shall prepare templates of the model retail  work-
 place  violence  prevention  policy  created  and  published pursuant to
 subdivision two  of  this  section  and  the  model  workplace  violence
 prevention  training  program  produced pursuant to subdivision three of
 this section. The commissioner shall  determine,  in  their  discretion,
 which languages to provide in addition to English, based on the [size of
 the  New  York  state population that speaks each language and any other
 factor that the commissioner shall deem  relevant.  All  such  templates
 shall be made available to employers in such manner as determined by the
 commissioner]  TWELVE MOST COMMON NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGES SPOKEN BY LIMIT-
 ED-ENGLISH PROFICIENT INDIVIDUALS IN THE STATE, BASED ON THE DATA IN THE
 MOST RECENT AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNITED  STATES
 CENSUS  BUREAU  AND  PUBLISHED  ONLINE  BY  THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF
 LANGUAGE ACCESS.
   c. When an employee identifies as their primary  language  a  language
 for which a template is not available from the commissioner, the employ-
 er  shall  comply  with  this  subdivision by providing that employee an
 English-language notice.
   d. An employer shall not be penalized for errors or omissions  in  the
 non-English portions of any notice provided by the commissioner.
   5.  [Panic  buttons]  RETAIL WORKER REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE.  a. Every
 employer of five hundred or more retail employees [nationwide] STATEWIDE
 shall provide [access to panic buttons throughout the workplace or work-
 places; provided, however, if an employer chooses to utilize wearable or
 mobile phone-based panic buttons, such employer  shall  be  required  to
 provide  such panic buttons to each of such employer's retail employees]
 EVERY RETAIL EMPLOYEE WITH A SILENT RESPONSE BUTTON TO REQUEST IMMEDIATE
 ASSISTANCE FROM A SECURITY OFFICER, MANAGER,  OR  SUPERVISOR  WHILE  THE
 EMPLOYEE  IS WORKING AT THE EMPLOYEE'S LOCATION IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.
 SUCH SILENT RESPONSE BUTTON MAY BE A DEVICE  THAT  IS  INSTALLED  IN  AN
 EASILY  ACCESSIBLE  LOCATION  IN  THE WORKPLACE, OR A WEARABLE OR MOBILE
 PHONE-BASED BUTTON.
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   b. Mobile phone-based [panic] SILENT  RESPONSE  buttons  may  only  be
 installed on employer-provided equipment, and wearable and mobile phone-
 based [panic] SILENT RESPONSE buttons shall not be used to track employ-
 ee  locations  except  when the [panic]  SILENT RESPONSE button is trig-
 gered.
   6. Rules and regulations. The commissioner [shall] MAY adopt rules and
 regulations necessary to implement the  provisions of this section.
   7.  Evaluation  of  policy. Beginning in the year two thousand twenty-
 seven and every succeeding four years thereafter, the  department  shall
 evaluate,  using  the  criteria  within  this section, the impact of the
 current model retail workplace violence prevention guidance document and
 retail workplace violence prevention policy. Upon the completion of each
 evaluation the  department  shall  update  the  model  retail  workplace
 violence  prevention  guidance  document  and  retail workplace violence
 prevention policy as needed.
   § 2. Section 3 of a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the labor law
 relating to requiring retail worker employers to develop  and  implement
 programs to prevent workplace violence, as proposed in legislative bills
 numbers S. 8358-C and A. 8947-C, is amended to read as follows:
   §  3.  This  act  shall take effect on the [one hundred eightieth] TWO
 HUNDRED SEVENTIETH day after it shall have become a law;  provided  that
 subdivision  5 of section 27-e of the labor law, as added by section two
 this act, shall take effect January 1, 2027.  Effective immediately, the
 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule  or  regulation  necessary
 for  the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized
 to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 section  one  of  this act shall take effect on the same date and in the
 same manner as a chapter of the laws of  2024  amending  the  labor  law
 relating  to  requiring retail worker employers to develop and implement
 programs to prevent workplace violence, as proposed in legislative bills
 numbers S. 8358-C and A. 8947-C, takes effect.