Check yourself out; it could pay off.
A 10% discount could be up for grabs — if you’re willing to work for it.
New York lawmaker, Nikki Lucas, proposed a 10% discount for shoppers who use the self-checkout lane. The bill, which was introduced in May, would only require retail establishments that also sell food to provide the discount.
This means supermarkets or retailers like Target and Walmart. Lucas argued that the money saved should go directly to the shopper and not the company, as customers are now doing the work.
“Retail businesses increasingly rely on self-checkout systems to reduce staffing and operational costs by shifting responsibilities traditionally performed by employees onto consumers,” Lucas wrote in the bill.
“Since customers are effectively completing portions of the checkout labor themselves without compensation, providing a mandatory discount helps ensure fairness, acknowledges consumer participation in store operations, and allows the public to share in the financial savings created by self-service technology,” the lawmaker added.
The bill is still in its early stages as it was introduced at the end of the legislative session. It still needs a committee vote, after which it can then hit the Assembly floor to be passed onto the Senate for another vote.
Regardless, self-checkout remains a controversial issue as states continue to roll out legislation regulating how it can be used. However, this particular bill is unique as it’s the only proposal that would hand money back to the shopper.
Earlier this year, another bill was introduced, and if passed, would force supermarkets and pharmacies in NYC to impose a 15-item limit at self-checkout lines. It would also force retailers to have at least one employee manning every three of those lanes.
Failure to follow the rules would mean daily fines of at least $100.
“We’ve seen the consequences of removing workers from these spaces: increased retail theft, less oversight, fewer protections for both workers and customers, and generally decreased safety,” said Councilwoman Amanda Farias while introducing the legislation Tuesday.
Rhode Island recently became the first state to actually enforce self-checkout rules after passing a new law in June. Starting next year, all grocery stores in the state must have at least one staffed manual lane for every three open self-checkout stations.
Plus, the employee cannot have any other duties while manning that checkout lane. If the stores don’t comply a daily fine — up to $1,000 — is on the line.
Similarly, Connecticut has introduced legislation requiring grocery stores to make three changes. The first would be one manual checkout station for every two self-checkout stations, at least one employee for every two self-checkout stations and stores would not be able to have more than eight self-checkout stations at any time.
Unlike in Rhode Island, the bill was dead on arrival and axed in May.
California got in the game last year with a bill in Long Beach cracking down on self-checkout. Passed back in September, the law requires grocery and drug stores using self-service stations to have one dedicated employee monitoring the self-service kiosk.
If more than one is open, the store must maintain a 1:3 ratio, one employee for every three self-checkout lanes.
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