Consumer Alerts: New bill will give panic buttons to some retail employees
A sign announces Black Friday specials on luggage sets inside a Macy's department store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, in Denver. Retailers are kicking off the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season on Friday with a bevy of discounts and other enticements. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill Friday that will mandate some changes she hopes will make your shopping trip safer.
That bill will now require big retailers to provide panic buttons for employees.
Retail theft has become such a problem, our area has a task force to handle it. Leaders of the retail workers union say 80 percent of their members worry about an active shooter in the store. But short of that, all too often, shoplifting situations turn violent – and three-quarters of employees say they would feel safer if they had regular training.
This bill will require large retailers to have a violence prevention plan and provide annual training for employees. Training is mandated every two years for small employers.
Lastly, retailers with more than 500 employees will have to provide employees with panic buttons. Will consumers ultimately bear the cost of higher prices? News10NBC’s Consumer Investigative Reporter Deanna Dewberry asked Josh Kellermann, director of public policy for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.
“Many times, workers are already provided with handheld devices or workplace smart devices. And a panic button is just a button, an app installed on that phone that they would have to press or there are independent wearable buttons that they could have and the assessed cost was $50 per employee.”
Deanna Dewberry, News10NBC: “And you brought up another good point that this isn’t just about worker safety. This is about customer safety.”
Kellermann: “Somewhere over 90 percent of people still go into a physical location to shop weekly. That means that those people that are buying their necessities, their groceries, clothes, household goods, they have a right to safely do that.”
Now, the Department of Labor has 180 days to come up with the training programs and rules around implementing them. Then, decisions will be made about when this new law will take effect.
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