RETAIL WORKER SAFETY ACT

Make every New York store compliant before January 1, 2027.

The Retail Worker Safety Act requires a silent response button in every covered store. Bryx deploys it in weeks, not months

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What is the Retail Worker Safety Act?

The Retail Worker Safety Act (New York Labor Law Section 27-e) requires covered retail employers in New York State to take specific steps to protect employees from workplace violence. The law was signed in September 2024, with its policy and training requirements taking effect June 2, 2025, and its silent response button requirement taking effect January 1, 2027.

 

WHO IT APPLIES TO
10+ retail employees in NYS

10 or more retail employees in New York State: must adopt a workplace violence prevention policy and provide interactive employee training.

500+ retail employees in NYS

500 or more retail employees statewide: must additionally provide a silent response button at every covered location.

THE THREE REQUIREMENTS

A written workplace violence prevention policy
Employers can adopt NYSDOL's model policy or write their own, as long as it meets the law's minimum standards. Required elements include a list of risk factors (e.g., operating in locations with uncontrolled public access), reporting procedures, an anti-retaliation statement, and a summary of applicable law. The policy must be provided in an employee's primary language if NYSDOL has published a translation, and redistributed at least once a year.
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Interactive employee training
Training must be interactive — employees must be able to provide input and receive a response — and must be conducted on paid work time. NYSDOL provides a free model training program (video and text versions) that employers can adopt or customize with site-specific details like emergency exits and meet-up locations. Training must be provided at hire, and:

  • Every year for employers with 50+ employees

  • Every two years for employers with 10–49 employees

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A silent response button (effective January 1, 2027)
Covered employers (500+ employees statewide) must give retail employees access to a button that requests immediate assistance from a security officer, manager, or supervisor in an emergency. Location may be tracked only when the button is actively triggered — never continuously, and never as general employee monitoring. It can take the form of:

  • A fixed, easily accessible physical button

  • A wearable device

  • A mobile phone application

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