Tell Albany to Vote No on Bill forcing Small Retailers to Hire Private Security Guards

May 13, 2024 Last Edit: June 5, 2025

Tell Albany to Vote No on Bill forcing Small Retailers to Hire Private Security Guards

A new, deceptively named bill proposes security mandates to combat retail theft and other crime taking over New York State. However, the “Retail Worker Safety Act” does not propose statewide safeguards against bad actors, but instead places responsibility for crime prevention on businesses themselves. If passed, this legislation will require safety measures like employee training, panic buttons, and more. In fact, if a business faces a violent crime, they would be forced to hire security personnel. This is all to be done on the business’ dime, which means businesses will be forced to pay thousands of dollars for being a victim of a crime or assault. Many small businesses treat their employees like family and would be devastated if something were to happen. It is unreasonable to expect a business owner to keep crime out of their establishments, and immoral to require them to pay if they fail. If the state wants upgraded security, they should foot the bill. If the state wants security guards, they should be on NY’s payroll. If the state wants to protect small businesses, they should be the ones leading the charge! Tell your lawmaker to vote no on this legislation and send this alert to any other small business owners you know. We need the voice of the full small business community to stop this terrible proposal!

Topics:

Taxes

State:

New York

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