N.Y. business groups worried retail worker safety law burdens small employers

State business groups expressed disappointment Monday that Gov. Kathy Hochul didn’t heed concerns about negative impacts a new law to strengthen protections for retail workers from theft rings and related violence will have on small employers.

Hochul signed legislation, known as the Retail Worker Safety Act, over the weekend as part of a package of legislation to commemorate New York City’s annual Labor Day parade on Saturday.

The new policy, to take effect next spring, aims to reduce retail theft rings and mandates retailers with more than 10 employees to develop a workplace violence prevention plan. Retailers must also specifically train workers about what to do in an emergency, including de-escalation tactics to be outlined by the state Labor Department.

“We’re going to have unintentional noncompliance; who’s going to know about this?” said Frank Kerbein, director of the Human Resources Center with the New York State Business Council. “Unless you belong to a chamber or buisness council, you’re a small retailer out there trying to sell your porduct, you may not know that this new thing is going to apply to you next March of 2025.”

Hochul amended the law before signing it, including reducing the annual training requirement for employers with less than 50 workers to be completed every two years. Training must be done annually for employers with more than 50 staffers.

“There were some tweaks to small retailers, but not enough to really provide the relief that they need in terms of making sure that, yes, they’re keeping their workers safe, but they’re also making sure that their operations continue,” said Ashely Ranslow, New York state director with the National Federation of Independent Business. “And that they as small retailers can compete with their larger big-box stores and online retail giants.”

New York business organization leaders worry the policy will unnecessarily burdens most Main Street retailers, and said employers face enough challenges, like higher costs and fewer staff — worsened by a recent loss of population.

Kerbein on Monday said the change is duplicative of existing federal labor law, and small businesses lack the attorneys and staff needed to make another plan.

“It’s your local bagel shop, or card shop, your liquor store, convenience stores,” he added of shops with over 10 employees. “So this [law] captures a lot —  almost everyone that I can think of in terms of the Main Street type of retailers you visit on a regular basis.”

Small business workers who will do the planning and training mandated under the new law will likely be staffers who do payroll, run the front counter or order merchandise, Ranslow said.

But state labor unions are celebrating the new policy after workers demanded action.

The new law will require retailers with more than 500 employees statewide to install a panic button workers can press to immediately call 911 and emergency services.

Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union, said 80% of retail workers are concerned about active shooters.

“It’s a real concern,” Appelbaum said. “And over half of workers in the state say they’ve received no training at all on how to deal with these situations.”

Critics have also expressed concerns the button could place extra burdens on local law enforcement and increase fake emergency calls.

Appelbaum said state labor leaders will put together detailed training for workers, which could be done virtually, and costs will be minimal for employers.

“I think that the value we receive for minimal cost is extraordinarily important,” the union president said. “We are protecting workers. We are protecting customers. Retailers … understand the importance of their workforce and they want to make sure that the people who have made them successful throughout the years, also, are kept safe.”

Business leaders Monday also argued the policy unfairly applies to all businesses across the state when the threat of retail theft rings and other emergencies remain most prevalent in New York City and urban areas.

But Appelbaum said these kinds of emergencies can happen anywhere in the state, like the mass shooting that took place at a supermarket in Buffalo in May 2022. 

“The bottom line is, retailers have to value their workers at least as much as they value their mechandise,” he said.

State business organizations continue to campaign against a bill Hochul will consider by the end of the year to require warehouses with over 100 workers to come up with a workplace safety plan and mandate an annual hazard analysis. Business leaders said they will continue their pushback in the coming months, but have not had recent conversation with the governor’s office about her intent to change, sign or veto the proposal.