NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed a new law requiring retailers to boost safety protections for store workers, including requiring major chains to add panic buttons in all New York State locations.
Unions representing retail workers had pushed for the new law, known as the Retail Worker Safety Act (RWSA), after high-profile shootings in the state and as some retail executives recently have cited a rise in retail crime - a claim that has been disputed.
I saw the headline above this morning, and my first thought was that it was being done as a preventive measure in order to speed up response times for mass shooting events.
And then I read it, and no, it’s meant to protect property and address theft that, depending on your source, may or may not actually be happening in the first place. It makes sense that Hochul’s focus is doing potentially useless shit for major corporations in a time when her constituents are struggling to pay rent.
I also worry about having a ‘sic police’ button available all major stores in a state known for having a very diverse racial population.