Bill Text: NY S03065 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires training to reduce abusive conduct and bullying in the workplace as part of a written workplace violence prevention program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-03 - returned to senate [S03065 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S03065-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         3065--B

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 27, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  RAMOS,  BROUK,  JACKSON, RIVERA -- read twice and
          ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
          Labor  --  reported favorably from said committee and committed to the
          Committee on Finance -- committee discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted  as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted
          to the Committee on Labor in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in  relation  to  requiring  training  to
          reduce abusive conduct and bullying in the workplace

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 3, 4, and 5 of section 27-b of the labor  law,
     2  as  added  by  chapter  82  of  the laws of 2006, are amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    3. Risk evaluation and determination. Every  employer  shall  evaluate
     5  its  workplace  or  workplaces  to  determine the presence of factors or
     6  situations in such workplace or workplaces that might place employees at
     7  risk of occupational assaults and homicides. Examples  of  such  factors
     8  shall include, but not be limited to:
     9    a.  working in public settings (e.g., social services or other govern-
    10  mental workers, police officers, firefighters, teachers,  public  trans-
    11  portation drivers, health care workers, and service workers);
    12    b. working late night or early morning hours;
    13    c. exchanging money with the public;
    14    d. working alone or in small numbers;
    15    e. abusive conduct and bullying in the workplace;
    16    f. uncontrolled access to the workplace; and
    17    [f.] g. areas of previous security problems.
    18    4.  Written workplace violence prevention program. Every employer with
    19  at least twenty full time permanent employees shall develop  and  imple-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04456-11-4
        S. 3065--B                          2

     1  ment  a  written workplace violence prevention program for its workplace
     2  or workplaces that includes the following:
     3    a.  a list of the risk factors identified in subdivision three of this
     4  section that are present in such workplace or workplaces;
     5    b. the methods the employer will use to prevent incidents  of  occupa-
     6  tional assaults and homicides at such workplace or workplaces, including
     7  but not limited to the following:
     8    (1) making high-risk areas more visible to more people;
     9    (2) installing good external lighting;
    10    (3) using drop safes or other methods to minimize cash on hand;
    11    (4) posting signs stating that limited cash is on hand;
    12    (5)  providing training in conflict resolution and nonviolent self-de-
    13  fense responses; and
    14    (6) establishing and implementing reporting systems for  incidents  of
    15  aggressive behavior, abusive conduct, and bullying.
    16    5.  Employee information and training. a. Every employer with at least
    17  twenty permanent full time employees shall make  the  written  workplace
    18  violence  prevention  program available, upon request, to its employees,
    19  their designated representatives and the department.
    20    b. Every employer shall provide its  employees  with  [the  following]
    21  information  and training on preventing and reporting workplace bullying
    22  and abusive conduct and the risks of occupational assaults and homicides
    23  in their workplace or workplaces at the time of their initial assignment
    24  and annually thereafter:
    25    (1) employees shall be informed of the requirements of  this  section,
    26  the  risk factors in their workplace or workplaces, and the location and
    27  availability  of  the  written  workplace  violence  prevention  program
    28  required by this section; and
    29    (2)  employee training shall include at least: (a) how how to identify
    30  and report workplace bullying  and  abusive  conduct  and  the  measures
    31  employees  can  take  to  protect  themselves from such risks, including
    32  specific procedures the employer has implemented to  protect  employees,
    33  such as appropriate work practices, emergency procedures, use of securi-
    34  ty  alarms  and  other devices, and (b) the details of the written work-
    35  place violence prevention program developed by the employer.
    36    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    37  it shall have become a law.