On September 6, 2023, Governor Hochul signed legislation amending the Workplace Violence Prevention Law extending coverage to public school districts and Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES). These changes became effective on January 4, 2024. The Workplace Violence Prevention Act (Article 2, section 27-b of New York State Labor Law) requires public employers to develop and implement programs to prevent and minimize workplace violence and ensure the safety of public employees.
This includes performing a risk evaluation of the workplace, providing employees with information and training and creating a system for employees to report workplace violence issues and maintaining and annually reviewing a workplace violence incident report.
Dutchess BOCES has created a Workplace Violence Prevention Committee, which includes a cross section of BOCES departments. The Board Of Trustees has approved the required policy ( 8130.2) and the team engaged in evaluating our physical campus, along with reviewing several data sets.
To the right, you will find links to Dutchess BOCES Workplace Violence Prevention Program, a reporting form and other materials related to the program.