‘A customer got violent’: Self-checkout proposal aims to help retail workers

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – As technology advances, many stores have introduced self-service checkout stations— however, California lawmakers worry that self-checkout is actually putting workers in danger rather than just reducing costs.

Los Angeles Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas talked Wednesday about a new proposal that aims to solve this problem, providing workers safety and customer satisfaction.

“The research and the ongoing lived experiences that we hear from workers every day regarding the impact of new technology in the workplace were crucial drivers for my bill, SB 1446, the Retail Theft Prevention and Safe Staffing Act,” said Senator Smallwood-Cuevas.

A report released by researchers from the Shift Project at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School shows self-checkout machines lead to understaffed workplaces, which results in more frequent occurrences of customer disrespect and bullying.

This is particularly true for a Los Angeles Food 4 Less cashier, Aurora Hernandez. Hernandez has been a cashier for five years, and while she says she loves her job, she and her coworkers have had to face many challenges due to understaffing.

Hernandez says only one employee would be in charge of six self-checkouts at the same time. She explained customers would try to get items for free, and when they couldn’t, they would become violent towards employees.

“A few days ago, I had a customer who got violent. She pepper-sprayed me, but I had the chance to move away. She wanted free stuff. It’s hard for us as cashiers, as employees, to have no safety for us. We need more cashiers, more personnel,” she expressed. “It’s too much.”

Hernandez says it is overwhelming having to help customers while also trying to avoid theft. In 2023, the Public Policy Institute of California reported Fresno County had 272 reported shoplifting incidents per 100,000 residents.

If passed, SB 1446 would not allow any retail store to provide a self-checkout option unless purchases were limited to no more than 15 items, and customers would not be allowed to use self-checkout to purchase items that needed identification or special theft deterrents.

SB 1446 would also prohibit any employee from having to monitor more than two self-service checkout stations

To learn more about this proposal, click here.

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