Supermarkets and retail drug stores like CVS in Anaheim may soon be required to have\u00a0 employees watching and helping out at their self-checkout stands.<\/p>\n
At Tuesday\u2019s 5 p.m. city council meeting, officials in OC\u2019s largest city will be the latest in Southern California to consider drafting an ordinance establishing staffing ratios, item limits and restricted items for self-checkout stations at local grocery stores.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe expansion of self-service checkout stations in grocery and drug retail stores has been a growing trend nationally,\u201d reads a staff report<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile self-checkout technology can improve efficiency, concerns have emerged regarding its impact on worker safety, retail theft, customer service, and employment levels.\u201d<\/p>\n Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, who called for the discussion with Councilwoman Norma Campos Kurtz, said the ordinance was about addressing theft and supporting workers.<\/p>\n \u201cRegulating self-checkouts helps curb shoplifting, protects workers who often serve multiple lanes at the same time, and ensures those that need assistance have a dedicated employee to help them,\u201d she wrote in a Monday text message.<\/p>\n Kurtz did not respond to a request for comment Monday.<\/p>\n Nate Rose, a spokesman for the California Grocers Association, said self-checkout ordinances like ones recently adopted in Long Beach and Costa Mesa drive up operational costs, making grocery prices more expensive.<\/p>\n \u201cLabor\u2019s the number one cost of running a grocery store,\u201d he said in a Monday phone interview.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnytime you\u2019re going to impose a lot of different restrictions on these things and then require a certain amount of employees over what the grocery stores are already implementing, that does increase costs. There\u2019s really nowhere else for that to end up other than as a higher price on the shelf,\u201d Rose said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rose said cities looking to implement such regulations need to talk to grocers \u2013 something he said officials in Anaheim have not done.<\/p>\n Jenna Thompson, a spokesperson for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324 union, said Anaheim\u2019s proposed ordinance will provide workers with extra support.<\/p>\n \u201cWorkers who oversee self-checkout areas are commonly helping customers with lotto tickets, Coinstar and more, while unlocking locked cases and cleaning up spills in the front. This is on top of their main job \u2013 to help customers who are using self-checkout,\u201d Thompson said in a Monday email.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen cities pass an ordinance like Long Beach or Costa Mesa, they will provide thousands of workers \u2013 union and non-union \u2013 with extra support and better service for customers.\u201d<\/p>\n The union backed Costa Mesa\u2019s self-checkout ordinance, arguing it would help curb theft.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Costa Mesa became the first city in Orange County to adopt an ordinance regulating self-checkout stands that is expected to go into effect late next month.<\/p>\n [Read: Costa Mesa to Require Staffed Self-Checkout Stands<\/a>]<\/p>\n The Costa Mesa ordinance requires at least one dedicated employee to monitor the self-checkout stands and an employee for every three self-checkout stations opened.<\/p>\n The ordinance there also limits shoppers using the self checkout kiosks to 15 items and bans them from buying alcohol, tobacco, and theft-deterrent tagged items at the stands.<\/p>\n There also has to be at least one regular checkout manned by a cashier opened before the self-checkout aisle is opened.\u00a0<\/p>\n Violations to the new rule can result in employees or customers suing the stores with penalties of up to $1,000 per employee per day.<\/p>\n Costa Mesa\u2019s ordinance was based on a similar ordinance adopted last year in Long Beach \u2013 the first city in the nation, according to a staff report<\/a>, to implement a self-checkout law.<\/p>\n To look at a comparison between Long Beach & Costa Mesa\u2019s ordinances, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cities aren\u2019t the only ones looking to better regulate self-checkout kiosks.<\/p>\n