Retail workers in New York who attempt to stop shoplifters wouldn’t be susceptible to losing their jobs or being punished by their bosses under laws proposed by a Long Island state lawmaker.
Many retail firms have told workers to avoid confrontations with thieves over liability and safety concerns.
Adding insult to injury, some employees who tried to stop thieves from stealing have been fired or disciplined.
Enough is enough, said Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (R-Smithtown).
His bill would protect employees from retaliation by an employer in the event that they confront or try to confront a person to forestall theft.
“The present explosion in retail theft, which shows no signs of subsiding. The unlucky final result has resulted in job loss for many employees who react to those crimes by intervening in an try to stop these criminals,” Fitzpatrick said within the memo explaining his anti-retaliation/jobs protection bill.
He said the measure doesn’t advocate worker interactions with shoplifters, and agreed that it’s “common sense” for stores to have trained security personnel to handle lawbreakers.
![Walgreens store](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/NYPICHPDPICT000014253272.jpg?w=1024)
But neither should workers be fired or punished for attempting to stop criminals from raiding their stores, he said.
In 2022, greater than 63,000 reports for retail theft were made — a forty five% jump from 2021 when just over 43,000 complaints were recorded. In 2019, the tally was just below 38,000.
![The Duane Reade at 401 Park Ave South](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/NYPICHPDPICT000015270870.jpg?w=1024)
It’s so bad in Midtown, the thirty fourth Street Partnership has hired its own K-9 units to discourage the thieves.
Fitzpatrick said the last straw got here when he recently witnessed a shoplifter wearing a bucket hat and sunglasses walk out of his local Goal store with a totally loaded cart.
![A general view of crime scene](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/NYPICHPDPICT000021439356.jpg?w=1024)
“I chased the guy down within the car parking zone and said, `Let the cart go.’ He said, “Mind your personal business,’” he recalled.
The thief ran off, and the assemblyman brought the cart with unpaid items back into the shop. An worker thanked him, noting workers are forbidden from confronting shoplifters.
“I’m so sick of seeing this occur,” he said.
Fitzpatrick said he was hopeful that the proposal would garner bipartisan support when the legislature reconvenes in January.