New York state could make it a felony to harass a frontline worker who is enforcing state and local COVID-19 vaccine regulations.

State Sen. Helene Weinstein, D-New York City, has introduced S.7405 in the state Senate to expand the definition of second-degree assault to include causing injury to a frontline worker for enforcing a city or state rule or regulation to control the spread of communicable diseases. A class D non-violent felony can include up to a year in jail, fines up to $5,000, restitution and between one and seven years probation. A class D violent felony can result in two to seven years in prison, three to 10 years of probation and fines up to $5,000.

“To control the spread of communicable diseases, such as COVID-19, state and local governments have instituted new rules and regulations around the wearing of personal protective equipment, and receiving vaccines,” Weinstein wrote in her legislative justification. “Checking compliance with these rules is often the responsibility of frontline workers. Due to the highly polarized nature of the seriousness of communicable diseases, frontline workers are being verbally and physically assaulted for checking a patron’s vaccine status, and reminding individuals to comply with mask wearing and other rules to reduce the spread of communicable diseases. This bill provides additional protection to the frontline workers that have been deputized by the state and local government by increasing the penalty of assaulting such worker to a class D felony.”

Harassment of frontline workers has become an issue in some areas, particularly New York City, where an executive order took effect Sept. 13 requiring restaurants, bars, coffee shops, entertainment venues and fitness establishments to require proof of at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose before patrons can enter. Four days after the the requirement took effect, three tourists reportedly attacked a hostess who asked for vaccine proof at a New York City restaurant. The tourists were charged with misdemeanor assault and criminal mischief while the restaurant host had to be taken to the hospital.

And, according to the Associated Press, a dozen retailers including Gap and H&M are collaborating on a campaign this fall to enlist customers to combat bad behavior against retail workers. Calla Devlin Rongerude, director of Open to All, said the campaign is not asking customers to step in to physically stop altercations, but rather to help de-escalate the situation and show support for workers. Even as the spread of COVID-19 slows, retailers fear abusive behavior will worsen as stores anticipate big crowds for the back-to-school and holiday seasons. With many states and businesses relaxing mask mandates and customers experiencing pandemic fatigue, workers worry about their safety.

“There is a lot of ambiguity,” Rongerude said. “People have a lot of fatigue. That is when tempers flare.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this article.