The governor of New Jersey State on the East Coast of the US, Phil Murphy, has signed a bill that makes it compulsory for most hotels in the state to supply their staff with wearable panic buttons in an effort to prevent sexual assault.
Housekeeping staff are often in rooms on their own and in 2018 a man pushed a 51-year-old female room cleaner into a suite and sexually assaulted her at Bally’s Casino in Atlantic City. This caused an outcry from staff at various hotels.
According to Fox News, ‘The housekeepers were enraged after that,’ said Ben Albert, an official with Local 54 of the Unite-Here workers union.
The law comes into effect in January and all hotels with 100 or more rooms will need to comply with the new bylaw, a first in the United States.
A number of major hotel groups, including Hilton and Marriott, have already stated that they have plans to provide their staff with these devices.
‘I am proud to sign panic-button legislation to give hotel workers security and the ability to immediately call for help should they need it,’ Governor Phil Murphy said during a ceremony, surrounded by housekeepers from Atlantic City casinos.
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