A crucial effort to protect retail workers which had been signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hocul last year is slated to go into effect this week, in response to an ongoing slew of harassment that got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. A long list of what they have endured prompted the development, which came about due to the advocacy of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), as well as Democratic State Sen. Jessica Ramos of Queens and Assemblymember Katrines Reyes of the Bronx, who authored the measure. Over 80% of retail workers said they were concerned about active shooter incidents. A deadly 2022 mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket killed 10 people and was identified as being racially motivated. Now, employers with 500 or more workers statewide are mandated to install a “silent response button” in the workplace, similar to the ones that banks have had for years, by 2027, which will alert security or supervisors in the workplace in the event that a dangerous or potentially dangerous situation has developed. Stuart Appelbaum, president of the RWDSU, lauded the law, saying, “Retail workers should not have to go to work every day in fear.”
Read the full story by Catallina Gonella for the Gothamist, published here: https://gothamist.com/news/ny-retail-worker-safety-law-takes-effect-this-week-heres-what-it-does
