New York establishes new legislation for workplace safety

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Governor Kathy Hochul of New York signed legislation to protect and support the growth of the state’s workforce.

“Coming from a union family, I know how critical organized labor is to building a strong middle class,” remarks Governor Hochul. “As we celebrate today’s Labor Day Parade in New York City, we are strengthening our commitment to working families and letting them know we have their backs every step of the way.”

There are eight pieces of legislation associated with this goal:

S.8358C/A.8947C: This is the Retail Worker Safety Act, requiring employers provide employee training and information to prevent workplace violence. This training will be based on a model provided by the State’s Department of Labor. Furthermore, employers of 500 employees statewide must have a silent alarm accessible to employees in the event of an emergency.
S.8948/A.9935: Judgements regarding an employee’s inability to perform their job due to a disability must be given to the employee and their representative.
S.8557/A.9386: A public employees can qualify for promotional civil service examination for appointment from an eligible list via provisional credit.
S.5085C/A.4066B: This legislation mandates automobile manufacturers will reimburse dealerships in accordance with retail labor time guides.
A.9265A/S.8608A: This requires contractors and subcontractors of covered public projects to submit payrolls and transcripts to a public database developed by the Department of Labor.
S.5500B/A.6146B: State agencies must develop a policy to notify employees of freedom of information requests for public disciplinary records.
S.8216A/A.8876: Competitive civil service exams may be taken within 12 months of the required age or educational criteria for the position.
S.8551/A.9349: Civil service exam questions must be reviewed and updated by the Department of Civil Service at least every five years.

Cynthia Marble, Senior Director, Threat Assessment and Management at Ontic, comments, “With similarities to the Workplace Violence Prevention Act that was passed by the state of California last year, NY state is requiring some employers to establish a proactive position of preparation and prevention when it comes to matters of workplace safety. The Retail Worker Safety Act requires corporate retail employers to adopt violence prevention plans, train workers in de-escalation techniques, and provide active shooter training.

“To prepare, retailers should develop a workplace violence prevention plan that details how to address employee concerns about violence, provides instructions for how employees should report incidents, and provides guidance on when to call law enforcement, use panic buttons, or alert individuals in the case of an emergency. Companies also need to ensure that they are tracking any investigations conducted on the reported incidents or threats so that they can continually monitor situations in real time. Having a robust system of record that can house information about these incidents can help retailers identify and address problem areas such as a high volume of incidents in a certain store location, aggressive behaviors directed towards employees, changes in policies or procedures, etc. With the passage of the Retail Worker’s Safety Act, retailers have the opportunity to be better prepared to address workplace violence concerns and minimize risk.

“Now that the law has been passed, all employers, not just those directly affected by its passage, should consider doing a health check of their current workplace violence prevention program. And if they don’t have one, see this as an opportunity to establish policies and procedures that meet best practice in workplace violence prevention. Employers should ensure their employees know how to recognize behavior that may be concerning and know how and where to report it. There should be procedures for investigating concerns so that the appropriate measures can be taken to address them. And lastly, employers need to have a secure method to log concerns, memorialize investigations, and have a record of steps taken to mitigate risk.”

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Jordyn Alger is the managing editor for Security magazine. Alger writes for topics such as physical security and cyber security and publishes online news stories about leaders in the security industry. She is also responsible for multimedia content and social media posts. Alger graduated in 2021 with a BA in English – Specialization in Writing from the University of Michigan. Image courtesy of Alger

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