From Long Beach to Providence: Rhode Island's New Self-Checkout Law Signals a Growing Legislative Trend

Over the past decade, a growing number of state and local governments have embraced what we have previously described as the “municipalization” of employment law, increasingly regulating workplace issues that historically were addressed through collective bargaining or state labor standards. From supplemental pay and scheduling practices to workload requirements and staffing mandates, municipalities and state legislatures are playing an expanding role in shaping terms and conditions of employment. That trend now appears to be extending into the regulation of retail automation. Labor organizations and worker advocates across California, Rhode Island, and other jurisdictions have advanced proposals that would impose staffing requirements or operational restrictions on self-checkout technology in retail settings. Although the specific approaches vary, these initiatives reflect a broader effort to regulate the deployment of automation through labor-focused legislation, raising the prospect of a new wave of state and local oversight of self-checkout operations nationwide.

The trend continues with Rhode Island. On June 18, 2026, Rhode Island enacted a pair of bills, House Bill 7290 and Senate Bill 2342, becoming the first state to impose self-checkout staffing requirements on covered grocery employers. 

Self-Checkout Bills: A Spreading Trend in Employment Law 

In 2019, the Oregon AFL-CIO submitted a ballot initiative for the general November 2020 election to limit self-checkout machines to two stations at any one grocery store location. The intent of the measure was to prevent reliance on self-checkout rather than the labor of employees. The initiative did not appear on the 2020 ballot, however. 

The topic has recently reappeared, and unsurprisingly, California municipalities are leading the way. At the helm of these introductions is the UFCW union’s advocating for self-checkout staffing requirements. On September 22, 2025, a Long Beach ordinance went into effect requiring a staffing ratio of one employee to three self-checkout stations. The cities of Costa Mesa, California and Santa Ana, California followed suit by enacting virtually identical self-checkout ordinances, effective April 18, 2026, and June 18, 2026, respectively. The ordinances all require covered retail grocery and drug stores to maintain a staffing ratio of one employee to three self-checkout stations for purposes of monitoring. Both ordinances require covered retail grocery and drug stores that provide self-checkout to have at least one manual checkout station operated by an employee who provides scanning, bagging, and payment processing. In addition, the ordinances provide for retaliation provisions, a 15-item checkout limit, and enforcement of violations, including hefty monetary penalties of up to $1,000 per employee per day until resolved. 

Rhode Island’s New Requirements

Effective January 1, 2027, Rhode Island’s new law covers grocery stores in the state that provide self-service checkout stations that allow customers to scan, bag, and pay for their groceries without employee assistance. Covered grocery stores in the state providing self-service checkout stations must have a ratio of one manual checkout station for every three self-service checkout stations. The new provisions allow for exemptions from the staffing ratio under certain circumstances. Under the new law, employers are exempt from the self-checkout staffing requirements during off-peak hours, defined as after 8 p.m., but before 8 a.m. local time on any calendar day. Additionally, staffing ratios do not apply during a declared state of emergency or when there is a severe weather alert where the store is located. (During a severe weather event, a grocery store cannot require any employee to report to, or to remain at work, in conditions that the employee reasonably believes pose an imminent threat to their personal safety.) 

Enforcement Includes a New Private Right of Action

Under the new law, the state’s Department of Labor & Training (Department) can impose fines against grocery employers for violations of the provisions. A first-time violation requires a written warning only. However, fines for multiple violations by the same grocery store location are equal to the wages for one four-hour shift, based on the highest wage for hourly retail clerks, for each day there is a violation. The fines are capped at $500 per day. 

Both employees and consumers alleging violations of the law may file complaints with the Department and are protected from retaliation for doing so. An employee alleging retaliation for submitting a complaint under the new law may bring a private action in superior court. Covered grocery stores that fail to correct violations, or retaliate against a consumer, are both considered “unlawful acts” under the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act. 

Pending Legislation in Other Jurisdictions

Within the last few years, other states and localities have introduced similar legislation. The various bills propose self-checkout to manual checkout ratios, relieving employees from other duties while monitoring self-checkout, self-checkout item limits, and/or monetary penalties. Legislation is currently pending in the following jurisdictions: California (Senate Bill 442); Anaheim, California; Massachusetts; New York City; and Ohio. Additionally, both Connecticut and Washington legislatures introduced bills in the 2026 legislative year. Both state legislatures are now out of session, however, so the bills died upon adjournment. It remains to be seen whether these bills will be reintroduced and advance in future sessions. 

Recommended Practices for Grocery and Drug Store Employers

Employers operating in jurisdictions with self-checkout requirements, or where similar legislation is pending, may wish to consider:

• Reviewing staffing models and operating procedures to ensure compliance with applicable self-checkout-to-employee ratios and manual checkout lane requirements. 
• Evaluating employee assignments at self-checkout stations to determine whether employees may need to be relieved of other duties while monitoring self-checkout operations, where required by law. 
• Confirming the availability of staffed, accessible checkout options and reviewing checkout configurations for compliance with disability-access requirements.
• Reviewing scheduling, emergency-response, and severe-weather policies, particularly where laws provide exemptions during emergencies or prohibit requiring employees to report to or remain at work when they reasonably believe severe weather presents an imminent threat to their safety. 
• Training managers and supervisors on complaint handling, enforcement provisions, and anti-retaliation obligations applicable to both employee and consumer complaints. 
• Assessing recordkeeping practices to document staffing levels, operational exemptions, and compliance efforts in the event of an agency investigation, complaint, or litigation. Because some laws impose daily penalties, contemporaneous documentation may be particularly important. 
• Monitoring legislative developments in states and municipalities considering similar measures, as proposals increasingly address staffing ratios, employee duties, item limits, enforcement mechanisms, and penalties associated with self-checkout operations. 
• Evaluating planned investments in retail automation and store redesigns to determine whether pending legislation could affect anticipated labor costs, staffing needs, or the operational benefits associated with self-checkout technology.