While 2020’s global pandemic largely upended how most people interact with physical work spaces, today, most people spend some time in an office.
Gone are the days of solely work-from-home configurations.
Recent statistics show that employees spend an average of about two days in the office, with many more moving back to the traditional in-office approach to the workplace. Recently, online retail giant Amazon announced that it will mandate its employees to return to the office five days each week once 2024 rolls around, as reported by Axios.
With this big cultural shift back to the office nationally and around the world, concerns over office safety are once again taking center stage. Recently, New York Governor Kathy Hochul put pen to paper and signed new legislation for improved workplace protections in her state. This complements recent legislation passed in California this summer, which set in place a mandate that all employers establish clearly written workplace violence protections statewide.
Moves like these reveal just how crucial physical safety is across the nation’s offices. Security Magazine’s Managing Editor Jordyn Alger recently covered the New York legislation.
Among some of the legislation’s key points:
New York’s plan involves the Retail Worker Safety Act, which provides training and education to prevent violence at the workplace.
The legislation reveals that judgments over whether or not an employee can do a job as a result of a disability have to be given to the employee and their workplace representative.
State agencies have to craft policies that notify employees of freedom of information requests for all public disciplinary records.
For the full list, head here.
“With similarities to the Workplace Violence Prevention Act that was passed by the state of California last year, NY state is requiring some employers to establish a proactive position of preparation and prevention when it comes to matters of workplace safety. The Retail Worker Safety Act requires corporate retail employers to adopt violence prevention plans, train workers in de-escalation techniques, and provide active shooter training, Cynthia Marble, Senior Director, Threat Assessment and Management at Ontic, told Alger.
This kind of legislation is critical because it provides frameworks and guideposts by which employers and employees alike can follow to create safer work environments. All of this is needed due to the uptick in violent workplace incidents since the pandemic as well as the looming threats of ever more sophisticated threats from external bad actors. Hopefully, these kinds of state laws can help ensure the physical safety and wellbeing of anyone who passes through the doors of any workplace around the country.