Effective Date of the New York Retail Worker Safety Act Extended

[Editor's note: Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed this amendment into law.]

Although later than anticipated, the New York State Legislature has just passed an amendment to the New York Retail Worker Safety Act that would extend the effective date of the act’s workplace violence prevention policy, training, and notice provisions from March 4 to June 2.

While this amendment still needs to be presented to Gov. Kathy Hochul to be signed into law, employers that are preparing for compliance can take note of the changes.

The amendment requires employers with 500 or more retail employees statewide to provide “silent response buttons” (SRBs) for internal alerts, adjusts training requirements for smaller employers, and mandates state model templates in multiple languages. (The effective date of the SRB requirement is still Jan. 1, 2027.)

The amendment also modifies the following other provisions of the act:

• “Panic buttons” that would alert law enforcement are now replaced with SRBs that alert internal staff (security officers, managers, or supervisors).
• SRBs are now required for employers with 500 or more retail employees statewide rather than nationwide.
• Employers with fewer than 50 retail employees now only need to provide workplace violence training to their retail employees upon hire, and then every other year, rather than annually.
• New York state model templates will now be issued in English and the 12 most common non-English languages spoken in New York (as determined by data published by the United States Census Bureau).

With the previous effective date right around the corner, this amendment, along with the extension of the compliance date to June 2, 2025, can be a breath of fresh air for employers still working on their workplace violence policies and training programs. 

Because Gov. Hochul was actively involved in advancing the Retail Worker Safety Act and its amendment, it is anticipated that she will sign the amendment into law.

Stefan Borovina is an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in New York City. Karen F. Tynan and Robert C. Rodriguez are attorneys with Ogletree Deakins in Sacramento, Calif. © 2025 Ogletree Deakins. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission.