NYSDOL publishes Retail Worker Safety Act model policy, training materials, FAQs

On June 2, 2025, key provisions of New York State’s new Retail Worker Safety Act (RWSA) went into effect. On May 29, the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) issued a model workplace violence prevention policy that meets the requirements of the Act. It also published a Model Retail Workplace Violence Prevention Training Text. Read on to  learn more.

What the Act does

The RWSA defines “retail employees” as workers in “a store that sells commodities at retail and which is not primarily engaged in the sale of food for consumption on the premises.” The new statute requires all employers that employ 10 or more retail employees in New York State to implement strategies to reduce the risk of workplace violence to their employees and increase employee safety.

All employers covered by the Act must adopt a retail workplace violence policy and provide their employees with retail workplace violence prevention training. Other parts of the new Act, which require that large retail employers provide a silent response button to employees, will become effective on January 1, 2027, with regard to retailers with 500 or more employees throughout  New York.

Worker training

The Act requires employers to provide employees with the workplace violence prevention training in an interactive format and make a written copy of the training material available as well.