A proposed Senate bill in California aims to address theft concerns by imposing restrictions on self-checkout lanes in grocery and retail drug stores.
Introduced by state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas of Los Angeles, Senate Bill 1446 allows stores to offer self-checkout lanes under specific conditions, such as limiting transactions to 10 items or less and ensuring at least one staffed manual checkout lane.
Concerns raised by the California Chamber of Commerce revolve around potential conflicts between customers and employees over item limits in self-checkout lanes, as outlined in a letter to Smallwood-Cuevas.
The bill also outlines strict guidelines for employee responsibilities, stating that monitors must focus solely on overseeing self-checkout lanes without any additional duties and limiting monitoring to two lanes at a time.
The legislation mandates grocery and retail drug establishments to conduct hazard analyses and assessments before implementing technology that could impact job functions.
Employees must be involved in the decision-making process regarding technological changes, with the bill requiring notification and input from employees before and during the implementation of such changes.
The proliferation of self-checkout systems has heightened concerns about the vulnerability of lone workers to theft and violence, prompting stakeholders to advocate for legislative measures.
Senator Smallwood-Cuevas, along with California Labor Federation COO Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, store workers, and criminal justice advocates, held an online press conference in support of SB 1446.
They emphasized the need for legislative action to mitigate theft and violence associated with self-checkout systems while safeguarding employee welfare and involvement in workplace technological changes.
The proposed bill seeks to address the challenges posed by self-checkout systems by implementing measures to combat theft, ensure employee safety, and promote transparency and employee participation in technological advancements. Let us hope California doesn’t one day require all items to be inside vending machines.
