Burdick, Slater, Santabarbara, Colton, Steck, Kay, De Los Santos, Bendett, Reyes, Berger, Hevesi,
Lasher, Eachus, Griffin, Kelles, Walsh
MLTSPNSR
Add §63, Soc Serv L
Requires every city or county social services district to provide a wearable or mobile phone-based panic button to each employee whose job responsibilities necessitate direct interaction with clients in a client's home.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7833A
SPONSOR: Levenberg TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to providing panic
buttons to certain employees of city and county social services
districts
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to workplace safety panic button to
certain social services employees.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. A new section 63 is added to the Social Services Law, "Work-
place Safety Equipment for Social Services Employees". 1. Every city or
county social services district shall provide a panic button to employ-
ees who has direct interaction with clients in a clients' home. 2. The
employee must be able to wear the panic button or have a mobile phone-
based button. The mobile phone option cannot be whose to track the
employee's locator unless the button has been triggered. Employees
shall bear no cost for this equipment. 3. Defines "panic button." 4. The
commissioner of the Office of Child and Family Services shall promulgate
the rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this
section.
Section 2. Establishes the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
The original version included panic buttons in external setting such as
hospitals, schools, client homes, community centers, etc. The amended
version is solely for social services employees going to clients' homes.
JUSTIFICATION:
Social workers frequently engage with clients alone in various settings,
including clients' homes. These interactions can expose them to poten-
tial threats, including verbal and physical confrontations. The American
Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) found that
70% of front-line child welfare workers have been victims of
violence/threats in the line of duty. Further, social service workers in
the public sector are 7 times more likely to be victims of violent
assaults.
This bill addresses these dangers by ensuring that social workers are
equipped with panic buttons that can provide immediate assistance in
emergencies. The panic button system will enable social workers to alert
emergency services discreetly without escalating potentially dangerous
situations. This bill is a proactive measure aimed at safeguarding our
social services workforce.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is new legislation.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the passage of this
legislation.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7833--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 11, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LEVENBERG, BURDICK, SLATER, SANTABARBARA, COLTON,
STECK, KAY, DE LOS SANTOS -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Social Services -- reported and referred to the Committee on Ways
and Means -- recommitted to the Committee on Ways and Means in accord-
ance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to providing panic
buttons to certain employees of city and county social services
districts
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section
2 63 to read as follows:
3 § 63. Workplace safety equipment for social services employees. 1.
4 Every city or county social services district, as constituted by section
5 sixty-one of this title, shall be required to provide a panic button to
6 each employee whose job responsibilities necessitate direct interaction
7 with clients in a client's home.
8 2. Such panic button shall be a wearable or mobile phone-based button.
9 Mobile phone-based panic buttons may only be installed on employer-pro-
10 vided equipment, and wearable and mobile phone-based panic buttons shall
11 not be used to track employee locations except when the panic button is
12 triggered. Employees shall bear no cost for this equipment.
13 3. For the purposes of this section, "panic button" shall mean a phys-
14 ical or virtual button that when activated immediately initiates an
15 emergency response by contacting either the local 9-1-1 public safety
16 answering point ("PSAP") or a dedicated monitoring or security service
17 that is capable of promptly notifying the PSAP. Such panic button shall
18 provide employee location information, and result in the dispatch of
19 local law enforcement or emergency services to the employee's location.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11369-02-5
A. 7833--A 2
1 4. Every city or county social services district shall develop a plan
2 to ensure that employees working in areas where panic button functional-
3 ity may be limited or unavailable can receive timely assistance from
4 local law enforcement in the event of an emergency.
5 5. The commissioner of the office of children and family services
6 shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the
7 provisions of this section.
8 § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
9 law.
