In addition to staffing and signage, SB 442 also seeks to expand the types of items prohibited from being sold in the self-checkout area.
A bill that is close to passing the California Legislature is seeking to implement new regulations for stores with self-checkout machines, including staffing requirements and item bans.
Senate Bill 442, which is waiting for a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, is among the bills that state lawmakers could review as the Legislature reconvenes on Aug. 18.
SB 442 seeks to require stores with self-checkout to display a sign noting that customers should limit their number of items to 15 or fewer when using the self-checkout stations. In addition, any employee in charge of assisting customers at a self-checkout station must not be assigned any other duties while monitoring the self-checkout area.
The store must also provide at least one traditional checkout station operated by an employee.
Businesses not in compliance would face a $1,000 fine per violation per day, not exceeding “an aggregate penalty of $200,000.”
SB 442 is authored by state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, who last year introduced a similar bill that failed to pass the Legislature.
“Too often these kiosks are used to replace customer-facing staff, leaving employees to manage customers, manage and monitor theft, and respond to disruptions all at the same time,” Smallwood-Cuevas said during a hearing in the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee on June 25.
She said SB 442 aims to address the rise in retail theft, as well as automation contributing to staffing shortages in stores.
According to a bill analysis following the committee hearing, “self-checkout accounted for under 30 percent of total transactions” in 2022. Meanwhile, the machines have cost food retailers more than $10 billion in annual losses, likely due in part to theft.
Smallwood-Cuevas said she and other lawmakers have tried looking for ways to address the financial impact on stores as a result of the increased theft throughout the state, while avoiding “building pathways and pipelines into prisons.”
“We particularly focus on areas where we see the most significant amount of retail theft, which happens to be at our self-checkout stations,” she said.
With dedicated employees overseeing the self-checkout, those staff members can focus on helping customers in that area and prevent theft, according to Smallwood-Cuevas.
By Cynthia Cai
