Section 27-B. Duty of public employers to develop and implement programs to prevent workplace violence

1. Purpose. The purpose of this  section  is
  to ensure that the risk of workplace assaults and homicides is evaluated
  by affected public employers and their employees and that such employers
  design  and  implement workplace violence protection programs to prevent
  and minimize the hazard of workplace violence to public employees.
    2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section:
    a. "Employer" means: (1) the state; (2) a political subdivision of the
  state, provided, however  that  this  subdivision  shall  not  mean  any
  employer  as  defined  in  section  twenty-eight  hundred  one-a  of the
  education law; and (3) a public authority, a public benefit corporation,
  or any other governmental agency or instrumentality thereof.
    b. "Employee" means a public employee working for an employer.
    c. "Workplace" means any location away from  an  employee's  domicile,
  permanent or temporary, where an employee performs any work-related duty
  in the course of his or her employment by an employer.
    d. "Supervisor" means any person within an employer's organization who
  has  the  authority  to  direct  and  control the work performance of an
  employee, or who has the authority to take corrective  action  regarding
  the  violation of a law, rule or regulation to which an employee submits
  written notice.
    e. "Retaliatory action" means  the  discharge,  suspension,  demotion,
  penalization,  or  discrimination against any employee, or other adverse
  employment action taken against an employee in the terms and  conditions
  of employment.
    3.  Risk  evaluation  and determination. Every employer shall evaluate
  its workplace or workplaces to determine  the  presence  of  factors  or
  situations in such workplace or workplaces that might place employees at
  risk  of  occupational  assaults and homicides. Examples of such factors
  shall include, but not limited to:
    a.  working  in  public  settings  (e.g.,  social  services  or  other
  governmental  workers,  police  officers, firefighters, teachers, public
  transportation drivers, health care workers, and service workers);
    b. working late night or early morning hours;
    c. exchanging money with the public;
    d. working alone or in small numbers;
    e. uncontrolled access to the workplace; and
    f. areas of previous security problems.
    4. Written workplace violence prevention program. Every employer  with
  at  least  twenty  full  time  permanent  employees  shall  develop  and
  implement a  written  workplace  violence  prevention  program  for  its
  workplace or workplaces that includes the following:
    a.  a list of the risk factors identified in subdivision three of this
  section that are present in such workplace or workplaces;
    b.  the  methods  the  employer  will  use  to  prevent  incidents  of
  occupational  assaults  and  homicides  at such workplace or workplaces,
  including but not limited to the following:
    (1) making high-risk areas more visible to more people;
    (2) installing good external lighting;
    (3) using drop safes or other methods to minimize cash on hand;
    (4) posting signs stating that limited cash is on hand;
    (5)  providing  training  in  conflict   resolution   and   nonviolent
  self-defense responses; and
    (6)  establishing  and implementing reporting systems for incidents of
  aggressive behavior.
    5. Employee information and training. a. Every employer with at  least
  twenty  permanent  full  time employees shall make the written workplace

  violence prevention program available, upon request, to  its  employees,
  their designated representatives and the department.
    b.  Every  employer  shall  provide  its  employees with the following
  information and training on  the  risks  of  occupational  assaults  and
  homicides  in their workplace or workplaces at the time of their initial
  assignment and annually thereafter:
    (1) employees shall be informed of the requirements of  this  section,
  the  risk factors in their workplace or workplaces, and the location and
  availability  of  the  written  workplace  violence  prevention  program
  required by this section; and
    (2)  employee  training  shall  include  at  least:  (a)  the measures
  employees can take to protect  themselves  from  such  risks,  including
  specific  procedures  the employer has implemented to protect employees,
  such  as  appropriate  work  practices,  emergency  procedures,  use  of
  security  alarms  and  other devices, and (b) the details of the written
  workplace violence prevention program developed by the employer.
    6. Application. a. Any employee or  representative  of  employees  who
  believes  that  a  serious  violation of a workplace violence protection
  program exists or that an imminent danger exists shall bring such matter
  to the attention of a supervisor in the form of  a  written  notice  and
  shall  afford  the  employer  a  reasonable  opportunity to correct such
  activity, policy or  practice.  This  referral  shall  not  apply  where
  imminent danger or threat exists to the safety of a specific employee or
  to  the general health of a specific patient and the employee reasonably
  believes in good faith that reporting to a supervisor would  not  result
  in corrective action.
    b.   If  following  a  referral  of  such  matter  to  the  employee's
  supervisor's attention and after a  reasonable  opportunity  to  correct
  such  activity,  policy or practice the matter has not been resolved and
  the employee or  representative  of  employees  still  believes  that  a
  violation of a workplace violence prevention program remains, or that an
  imminent danger exists, such employee or representative of employees may
  request  an  inspection  by  giving  notice  to the commissioner of such
  violation or danger. Such notice and request shall be in writing,  shall
  set  forth  with  reasonable  particularity  the grounds for the notice,
  shall be signed by such employee or representative of employees,  and  a
  copy shall be provided by the commissioner to the employer or the person
  in  charge  no  later  than  the  time of inspection, except that on the
  request of the person giving such notice, such  person's  name  and  the
  names  of  individual employees or representatives of employees shall be
  withheld.  Such inspection shall be made forthwith.
    c. A  representative  of  the  employer  and  an  authorized  employee
  representative   shall   be  given  the  opportunity  to  accompany  the
  commissioner during  an  inspection  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  such
  inspection.  Where  there  is no authorized employee representative, the
  commissioner  shall  consult  with  a  reasonable  number  of  employees
  concerning matters of safety in the workplace.
    d. The authority of the commissioner to inspect a premises pursuant to
  such an employee complaint shall not be limited to the alleged violation
  contained in such complaint. The commissioner may inspect any other area
  of  the premises in which he or she has reason to believe that a serious
  violation of this section exists.
    e. No employer shall take  retaliatory  action  against  any  employee
  because the employee does any of the following:
    (1) makes an application pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision;
    (2)  requests  an  inspection  as  authorized  in  paragraph b of this
  subdivision;

    (3) accompanies the commissioner as authorized in paragraph c of  this
  subdivision;
    f.  The  commissioner  may, upon his or her own initiative, conduct an
  inspection of any premises occupied by an employer  if  he  or  she  has
  reason to believe that a violation of this section has occurred or if he
  or  she  has  a  general administrative plan for the enforcement of this
  section, including a general schedule of inspections,  which  provide  a
  rational  administrative  basis  for such inspecting. Within one hundred
  twenty days of the effective date of  this  paragraph  the  commissioner
  shall  adopt  rules  and regulations implementing the provisions of this
  section.
    g. Any information obtained  by  the  commissioner  pursuant  to  this
  subdivision shall be obtained with a minimum burden upon the employers.
    h. When a request for an inspection has been made in a situation where
  there is an allegation of an imminent danger such that an employee would
  be  subjecting  himself or herself to serious injury or death because of
  the hazardous condition in the workplace, the inspection shall be  given
  the  highest  priority  by  the  department  and  shall  be  carried out
  immediately.