* § 27-e. Prevention of retail workplace violence. 1. Definitions. For
the purposes of this section:

a. "Employer" means any person, entity, business, corporation,
partnership, limited liability company, or an association employing at
least ten retail employees. The term shall not include the state, any
political subdivision of the state, a public authority, or any other
governmental 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.

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
immediately 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
implementing 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
minimum 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
consultation with relevant groups as deemed necessary, 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
themselves when faced with workplace violence from customers or other
coworkers;

(iii) de-escalation tactics;

(iv) active shooter drills;

(v) emergency procedures; and

(vi) instruction on the use of security alarms, panic 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
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
information presented at such employer's workplace violence prevention
training program.

b. The commissioner shall prepare templates of the model retail
workplace 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.

c. When an employee identifies as their primary language a language
for which a template is not available from the commissioner, the
employer 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. a. Every employer of five hundred or more retail
employees nationwide shall provide access to panic buttons throughout
the workplace or workplaces; 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.

b. Mobile phone-based panic buttons may only be installed on
employer-provided equipment, and wearable and mobile phone-based panic
buttons shall not be used to track employee locations except when the
panic button is triggered.

** NB Effective January 1, 2027

6. Rules and regulations. The commissioner shall 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.

* NB Effective March 4, 2025