New Jersey Law to Require Hotels to Provide Hotel Workers with Panic Buttons

Lobby, Newark Liberty Airport Marriott

New Jersey became the first state in the union to require hotels to provide hotel employees such as housekeeping staff with wearable panic buttons. The buttons are intended to help protect employees from sexual assaults and other dangerous circumstances.

“We must protect the safety of workers in the hospitality industry,” said the state’s governor, Phil Murphy.

The law, which goes into effect next January, is applicable to hotels with 100 rooms or more, which includes all nine Atlantic City casino hotels.

In September 2018, five hotel chains – Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott, and Wyndham – along with the group that represents major hotels, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, announced new safety and security measures for hotel employees and guests that included giving customer-facing employees a panic button.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)