New York's Retail Worker Safety Act: Ensuring Compliance with Intrado Safety Suite

The New York Retail Worker Safety Act, enacted in September 2024, marks a significant step toward protecting New York's retail workers from workplace violence. This legislation introduces several mandatory safety measures for retail employers, including:

• Developing a Workplace Violence Prevention Policy
• Providing employee training on violence de-escalation
• Installing panic buttons in stores with over 500 employees

With compliance deadlines ranging from March 2025 to January 2027, it's crucial for businesses to act promptly. Intrado Safety Suite offers a comprehensive solution to help retailers meet these requirements efficiently.

How Intrado Safety Suite Helps Facilitate Workplace Safety

Intrado Safety Suite is the industry leading provider of end-to-end incident management solutions designed for retailers to prepare for, respond to, mitigate, and recover from emergency events. It offers employers a unified solution to meet their duty of care, providing a comprehensive set of tools built for keeping retail associates and guests safe.

• "One Size Does Not Fit All" - Every organization has unique characteristics, which can include variations in the composition and size of employee teams, the scheduling and duration of work shifts, and the layout and design of physical buildings. These differences can significantly impact how safety measures are implemented and managed within each retail environment. Safety Suite is completely customizable, allowing employers to set up scenarios that fit their unique environments and needs. For example, the digital checklist feature simplifies the set up of incident procedures covering a range of emergencies (e.g. intruders, active shooters, hostile situations, sexual assault, etc.) to help employees address and manage emergencies.

• True End-to-End Incident Management - Safety Suite is comprised of three, primary components: Intrado Revolution (on-premises, mass notification software), Safety Shield (incident management software), and Wearable or Mobile Panic Buttons. In an emergency, a primary objective is to bring help swiftly and effectively to where it is needed to ensure a rapid and effective response. Typically, this begins with those physically present on-site, such as security personnel or staff, who are likely in the best position to immediately assess and address an unfolding situation. Quick notification by these on-site individuals allows the response to be initiated without delay, potentially mitigating the severity of the incident. Following the initial on-site alert, it is crucial to be able to extend the notification to local emergency services such as 911, district management teams, and other relevant authorities. Safety Suite allows this to happen either once the on-site team has been alerted or simultaneous with notifying the on-site team. This comprehensive approach to incident notification is designed to maximize the speed and effectiveness of the response, ultimately enhancing the safety and security of everyone involved.  

  • Safety Suite's first component, Intrado Revolution, is an advanced, on-premises mass notification software that enables swift and efficient communication during emergencies, ensuring that all relevant parties are promptly informed. It connects disparate communication systems and devices to facilitate rapid dissemination of critical information, allowing for immediate action and coordination among employees, security personnel, and management.

  • The second component, Safety Shield, is a robust, incident management platform solution that provides a structured framework for handling emergency situations. It offers tools and resources to help organizations prepare for, respond to, and recover from incidents, ensuring that all procedures are followed systematically and effectively. A key feature of this platform is its ability to simultaneously share incident data with on-site staff (i.e. store security and management) and communicate directly with local 911 centers through Intrado’s existing, nationwide 911 routing network to facilitate faster emergency response. Safety Shield also offers a digital checklist feature to help retailers comply with the Workplace Violence Prevention Policy provisions of the Retail Worker Safety Act. 

  • The third component is silent alarm options -- Wearable or Mobile Device-Based Panic Buttons – which empower workers to quickly and discreetly initiate procedures and summon help during emergencies. This capability is particularly vital in high-risk situations, providing a silent and immediate means of alerting both internal security teams and external emergency responders. 

    Together, these components support true, end-to-end incident management by creating a seamless and integrated system that enhances the overall safety and security of the retail environment.

• A Modern Approach to Employee Safety Devices - For larger retailers, Intrado Safety Suite incorporates wearable and mobile panic button solutions, enabling immediate access to emergency help from both internal resources and 911 first responders. Intrado's Wearable and Mobile Panic Buttons directly address the law's requirement for silent response buttons in stores with over 500 employees. As a leader in public safety and 911 for over 40 years, Intrado has the ability to share critical data directly with 911 centers and first responders using our existing, native 911 infrastructure to streamline the entire emergency response process and support more positive safety outcomes. 

Benefits of Early Adoption

Incorporating Intrado Safety Suite into your business operations will allow you to achieve timely compliance with the New York Retail Worker Safety Act, create a safer working environment for employees and guests, and simplify the implementation of policies and training processes before the mandated deadlines. Developing an open dialogue with your local 911 center during the planning and implementation process is critical to ensure a seamless deployment process, and Intrado is available to assist in creating that relationship. 

Take proactive steps to create a safer retail environment while meeting regulatory requirements with Intrado Safety Suite. 

Learn how Intrado helps retail enterprises comply with other regulations such as Kari's Law and RAY BAUM's Act. 

*Source: Morgan Lewis Publication on New York State Retail Worker Safety Act