You know Panic! At The Disco—can Costco have panic buttons?

Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Retail Worker Safety Act on Wednesday, requiring major retail stores in New York to install “panic buttons” for their employees. The law takes effect March 1, 2025, and New York panic buttons must be accessible or operational by January 1, 2027.

That means almost every large retailer—including Walmart, which has 98 stores in the state—must comply with the new New York law. California passed a similar law this year, but New York requires panic buttons. Recent violence and threats against retail workers and mass shootings in retail stores, such as the 2022 racist attack in a Buffalo supermarket that killed 10 and injured three, prompted both laws.

Which retailers suffer?
The new law defines a retail store as one that “sells consumer commodities at retail and which is not primarily engaged in the sale of food for consumption on the premises,” so Target and Costco would need to make changes to their New York locations to comply.

The law requires retail employers with at least 10 employees to assess potential violence hazards and implement prevention policies. Notably, businesses with more than 500 retail employees must provide panic buttons throughout their workplaces. Employers could also provide mobile phone panic buttons.

“Nationwide” works because large retail chains employ hundreds of thousands of workers. In fact, Walmart has millions. Again, almost any major retail chain would likely be affected.

How does a panic button work?
The law states: “‘Panic button’ means a physical button installed in easily accessible locations throughout the workplace, or a wearable, or mobile phone-based button that when pressed immediately contacts the local 9-1-1 public safety answering point (“PSAP”), provides that PSAP with employee location information, and dispatches local law enforcement to

Thus, stores could have physical panic buttons like banks have silent alarm buttons. Employees could also be required to have a panic button app on their phones.

Who backs the law?
Labor unions like RWDSU supported the new law.

“Working to stop retail violence and theft has been a centerpiece of the Governor’s work this legislative session,” said RWDSU president Stuart Appelbaum. “With her signature on the Retail Worker Safety Act, our members, retail workers across the state, and shoppers will be safer. Preventing violence and harassment will be easier with this law, but more importantly, it will help workers get help faster in an emergency.

Who disagrees?
Some retailers and industry groups oppose the new law due to its higher costs.

Walmart’s executive vice president of corporate affairs, Dan Bartlett, told Reuters in June that the company opposed panic buttons due to false alarms. Reuters also reports opposition from industry lobbying groups like the National Retail Federation and the Food Industry Alliance of New York State.

“panic buttons” for employees.

You know Panic! At The Disco—can Costco have panic buttons?

By ki0nk

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