3 Things You Need to Know About the New Law Proposal After Delivery Slaying
If you haven’t heard of the story about a delivery man needlessly and viciously attacking a defenseless 75 year old woman whose only mistake was upgrading her own laundry room, consider yourself lucky. There is, however, something positive coming out of such a terrible tragedy. A new law named after the deceased Boca Raton woman, the “Evy Udell Public Safety Act” could help ensure that something as horrible as this never happens again.
A bill filed in the Florida House on January 7th, 2020 adds unprecedented requirements to the hiring and employment of delivery service workers with the potential to impose penalties on retailers who subcontract those workers. If passed, there are 3 things every business owner, and customer, should know:
#1. The law would require all delivery service companies to complete local and national criminal background checks for employees, and tell retailers they contract with if employees are arrested, convicted or awaiting trial for a number of offenses. They include: sexual misconduct, attempts or conspiracy to commit felonies in the second and third degree, assault, battery and domestic violence.
#2. As part of the bill, large retailers must also explicitly tell customers whether the person who delivers to their home will be a subcontractor. Retailers will have to ensure subcontracted delivery workers have undergone required screening.
#3. The bill applies only to a person or company who transports and unloads household goods as part of a delivery service. It excludes postal and package service workers, such as those who work for Amazon or UPS.
The bill was sponsored by Republican House Rep. Mike Caruso and Democratic State Sen. Kevin Rader. It has gone through several iterations and the Udell family has been involved in the process, but they haven’t submitted a final bill to the House yet. However, if passed, the bill will set a precedent by holding companies criminally liable for who they allow into people’s homes. This is most definitely a story to follow, and although it may make things more difficult for some business owners, it can also prevent something so horrible from ever happening again.
