A 6903: Requires public and not-for-profit libraries to implement risk evaluations and determinations, workplace trainings, and other measures for the prevention of workplace violence.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6903 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY March 18, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BRONSON, R. CARROLL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Libraries and Education Technology AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring public and not-for-profit libraries develop and implement programs to protect library employees The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new 2 subdivision 63 to read as follows: 3 63. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for the 4 protection and general well-being of library employees in public and 5 not-for-profit libraries in the state pursuant to subdivision ten of 6 section two hundred eighty-six of this chapter. 7 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 286 to read 8 as follows: 9 § 286. Duty of public and not-for-profit libraries to implement 10 programs to prevent on-site violence. 1. Definitions. For the purposes 11 of this section: 12 (a) "Library" shall mean any public library or library having tax 13 exempt status under section 501 (c) (3) of the United States Internal 14 Revenue Code. 15 (b) "Library employee" means an individual who is employed by a 16 library. 17 (c) "Workplace" means any location away from a library employee's 18 domicile, permanent or temporary, where a library employee performs any 19 work-related duty in the course of such employee's employment by a 20 library. 21 2. Risk evaluation and determination. Every library shall evaluate its 22 workplace or workplaces to determine the presence of factors or situ- 23 ations in such workplace or workplaces that might place library employ- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07317-01-5 
 A. 6903 2 1 ees at risk of workplace violence. Examples of such factors shall 2 include, but not be limited to: 3 (a) working late night or early morning hours; 4 (b) working alone or in small numbers; 5 (c) uncontrolled access to the workplace; and 6 (d) areas of previous security problems. 7 3. Written workplace violence prevention policy. (a) Every library 8 shall develop and implement a written workplace violence prevention 9 policy for its workplace or workplaces that includes the following: 10 (i) a list of the risk factors, such as those identified in subdivi- 11 sion two of this section, that are present in such workplace or work- 12 places; 13 (ii) the methods the library will use to prevent incidents of work- 14 place violence at such workplace or workplaces, including but not limit- 15 ed to the following: 16 (1) making high-risk areas more visible to more people; 17 (2) installing good external lighting; 18 (3) providing employee training; and 19 (4) establishing and implementing reporting systems for incidents of 20 workplace violence. 21 (b) Every library shall make the written workplace violence prevention 22 policy available upon request to its library employees, such library 23 employees' designated representatives, and the department. Library 24 employees shall be provided a written copy of the workplace violence 25 prevention policy upon hire. The written policy shall be available in 26 English, Spanish and any other language requested by a library employee 27 within thirty days of such request. 28 4. Library employee information and training. The department, in 29 consultation with relevant groups as deemed necessary, shall produce a 30 model workplace violence prevention training program. Every library 31 shall utilize the model workplace violence prevention training program 32 pursuant to this subdivision or establish a workplace violence 33 prevention training program that equals or exceeds the minimum standards 34 provided by such model training program. The department's model training 35 program shall include, but not be limited to: 36 (a) information on the requirements of this section; 37 (b) examples of measures library employees can use to protect them- 38 selves when faced with workplace violence from customers or other 39 coworkers; 40 (c) de-escalation tactics; 41 (d) active shooter drills; 42 (e) emergency procedures; 43 (f) instruction on the use of security alarms, panic buttons, and 44 other related emergency devices; 45 (g) training for people in mental health crisis; and 46 (h) trauma and grief counseling support for employees. 47 5. All training shall be conducted in English as well as the primary 48 languages spoken by library employees in the workplace. Every library 49 shall provide its library employees with such workplace violence 50 prevention training at the time of hiring and annually thereafter. When 51 providing such workplace violence prevention training, each library 52 shall also inform their library employees of the details and location of 53 the written workplace violence prevention policy developed pursuant to 54 this section. Each library shall include the risk factors specific to 55 such employer's workplace or workplaces, measures library employees can 56 take to protect themselves from such risks identified in such written 
 A. 6903 3 1 workplace violence prevention policy, and any procedures the library has 2 implemented to protect library employees. 3 6. Documentation of workplace violence incidents. Every library shall 4 document each incident of workplace violence and shall maintain a copy 5 of such documentation for a minimum of three years after each incident. 6 Every library shall provide documentation of such incidents to the 7 department upon request and shall remove any personally identifying 8 information from such documentation before delivering it to the depart- 9 ment. 10 7. Annual review. Every library shall review the number and scope of 11 workplace violence incidents annually and shall make any necessary 12 changes to the written workplace violence prevention policy as 13 prescribed by subdivision three of this section. 14 8. Panic buttons. Every library shall install panic buttons at easily 15 accessible locations throughout the workplace or workplaces. For the 16 purposes of this section, "panic button" shall mean a physical button 17 that when pressed immediately dispatches local law enforcement to the 18 workplace. 19 9. Security guards. Libraries who have experienced a certain number of 20 violent incidents in their workplace or workplaces in a given period of 21 time, as determined by the department, shall be required to have a secu- 22 rity guard present at the workplace during all hours in which the 23 library is open. 24 10. Within one hundred eighty days of the effective date of this 25 section, the commissioner shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to 26 implement the provisions of this section. 27 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 28 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 29 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 30 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 31 on or before such effective date.