A new California bill has the potential to ban self-checkout options in grocery stores in an attempt to curb retail theft.
Senate Bill 1446, introduced by Democratic state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, would “prohibit a grocery or retail drug establishment from providing a self-service checkout option” unless conditions such as ensuring that no more than two self-service checkout stations are monitored by one employee are met, according to a summary of the proposed legislation.
The bill also mandates that stores access how using artificial intelligence or other technology may cut jobs and “significantly affects the essential job functions of its employees.”
Smallwood-Cuevas said self-checkouts are responsible for $10 billion in losses and cause 16 times more losses than check-outs done with a cashier.
“As self-checkout has become more commonplace, loan workers have become easy targets for theft and violence as they are forced to stock merchandise, operate checkout stations, and cater to customers” all while “trying to monitor their stores for retail theft,” Smallwood-Cuevas said to Fox Business.
While the legislation has garnered support from labor unions, including United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), and legal groups, including Prosecutors Alliance of California, it’s faced criticism from the California Chamber of Commerce, which is concerned the new legislation may require grocers to hire more employees, narrowing profit margins and potentially leading to store closures.
