Hunton Retail Law Resource

Self-checkout has become a familiar feature in many retail stores, but it is also drawing increasing attention from state and local lawmakers. Several US states have proposed legislation to restrict self-checkout usage largely in response to theft and labor concerns. While no statewide bills have been signed into law, this is a trend retailers should watch closely.

Although the proposals vary in scope, they point to a broader trend: lawmakers are increasingly treating self-checkout as a subject for operational regulation, particularly in food and drug retail settings. Bills identified in the current wave include proposals in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Ohio, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Washington, and California.

At a high level, these bills tend to follow a common set of themes. Several would require retailers to maintain a minimum number of staffed or manual checkout lanes whenever self-checkout is offered. Others would cap the number of self-checkout stations that may operate at one time, require staffing ratios such as requiring at least one employee assigned to a specific number of self-checkout stations, or require that employees assigned to self-checkout monitoring be relieved of other duties while performing that role.

Another recurring feature is transaction-level restrictions. Multiple proposals would limit self-checkout transactions to 15 items and require signage disclosing that limit. Several also would prohibit customers from using self-checkout for age-restricted products, such as alcohol or tobacco, or for merchandise subject to theft-deterrent measures, such as electronic tags.

Some bills go further by addressing store layout and compliance procedures. For example, certain proposals would require self-checkout areas to be placed where store personnel—and in some cases law enforcement—can observe them. A number of the bills also include complaint procedures, civil penalties, private rights of action, anti-retaliation protections, and agency enforcement authority.

A short state snapshot helps illustrate the range of approaches. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut are all considering similar models that would cap self-checkout stations at eight per location, require one manual lane for every two self-checkout stations, and limit monitoring to two stations per employee. Ohio, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and California generally focus more on staffed-lane availability, 15-item limits, prohibited-item rules, and employee monitoring obligations, with some differences such as in staffing ratios and enforcement structure.

The trend is not limited to state legislatures. Local ordinances in Long Beach and Costa Mesa, California, already impose restrictions similar to some of the state proposals, and California’s pending bill expressly preserves stronger local ordinances.  

For retailers, the immediate takeaway is not that a uniform national standard is emerging, but that self-checkout is becoming a more active area of regulation. Retailers that use self-checkout may want to monitor developments across jurisdictions and consider, at a high level, whether their current staffing models, signage, item-limit practices, and store layouts could be affected if similar measures advance.