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S2342BLabor Relations

Labor and Labor Relations - Restrictions on Self-Service Checkout Stations Act

This bill requires grocery stores to keep one cashier-operated checkout open for every three self-checkout stations in use.

Introduced32 Yea6 Nay0 Not voting
Population
Affected
68
Email Legislator
Introduced Jan 30, 2026Committee Senate Commerce

Plain-English Summary

This bill requires grocery stores that offer self-checkouts to keep at least one manual, cashier-operated checkout open for every three self-checkout stations in use. At least one of these manual checkouts must be accessible to people with disabilities. It also requires that employees assigned to monitor self-checkouts cannot be given other tasks at the same time. The bill includes exemptions for off-peak hours (before 8:00 a.m. and after 8:00 p.m.) and during weather emergencies. The Department of Labor and Training will enforce these rules, and stores can be fined up to $500 per day for repeated violations.

For younger readers

This bill makes rules for grocery stores that have self-checkout machines. If a store has self-checkouts turned on, it must also have a real person working at a normal cash register for every three self-checkout machines being used. One of the regular registers must be easy to use for people in wheelchairs. Also, the worker watching the self-checkout area isn't allowed to do other jobs at the same time. The rules don't apply early in the morning, late at night, or during very bad storms. Stores that break the rules can be fined money.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Grocery store ownersRetail clerksGrocery store customersIndividuals with disabilitiesDepartment of Labor and Training
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. This bill regulates commercial business operations and labor standards, which falls well within the state's police power to regulate commerce and labor. It does not appear to infringe on free speech, due process, or protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
Amount unknown

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Protects working-class retail jobs by preventing corporate grocery chains from fully automating their checkouts to cut labor costs.
  • Ensures accessibility and social justice for the elderly and disabled by mandating that at least one ADA-compliant manual checkout station remains open.
  • Protects workers from exploitative labor practices by prohibiting stores from forcing employees to monitor self-checkouts while simultaneously performing other duties.
  • The exemption for off-peak hours (before 8:00 a.m. and after 8:00 p.m.) leaves late-night or early-morning shoppers, who are often working-class individuals with non-traditional shifts, without guaranteed access to a human cashier.
  • The financial penalties (capped at $500 per day) are too low to deter massive corporate grocery chains, who may simply pay the fine as a cost of doing business rather than hire more staff.
  • By increasing mandatory operating costs for grocery stores, the bill could inadvertently lead to higher food prices or the closure of struggling stores in low-income neighborhoods, worsening food deserts.
For Conservatives
  • Promotes traditional consumer experiences and human interaction by ensuring customers can always choose to be served by a real person rather than a machine.
  • May help reduce retail theft and protect private property by ensuring dedicated employees are solely focused on monitoring self-checkout stations without being distracted by other tasks.
  • Includes reasonable exemptions for businesses during severe weather emergencies and off-peak hours, providing some operational flexibility for store management.
  • Severely infringes on corporate freedom by allowing the government to dictate private business staffing levels, operational models, and technology use.
  • Increases labor costs for grocery stores, which will likely be passed on to consumers in the form of higher grocery prices.
  • Creates unnecessary government bureaucracy and opens businesses up to frivolous complaints by allowing both employees and consumers to report stores to the state over checkout ratios.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

4 versions
Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 68 additions

SECTION 1. Title 28 of the General Laws entitled "LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 28-61-1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Restrictions on Self-Service Checkout Stations Act”. 28-61-2. Applicability. This act shall apply to all grocery stores in this state that offer shoppers the use of self- service checkout stations. 28-61-3. Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms and phrases are defined as follows:

(1) “Department” means the department of labor and training.

(2) “Groceries” means

(i) Any raw or processed food or beverage intended for human consumption except alcoholic beverages and marijuana products; and

(ii) Miscellaneous household maintenance items including, but not limited to, laundry detergent and dishwashing soap, when sold by a retailer that also sells food and beverages.

(3) “Grocery store” means a business that earns the majority of its gross income from the retail sale of groceries.

(4) “Manual checkout station” means a checkout station at which a human operator assists shoppers by scanning, bagging, and accepting payment for purchases.

(5) “Retail clerk” means an employee whose primary responsibility is assisting shoppers with scanning, bagging, and receiving payment for purchases.

(6) “Retail sale” means the sale of groceries to a shopper for personal use or consumption; provided, such use is not for the purpose of resale.

(7) “Self-service checkout” means an automated process that enables shoppers to scan, bag, and pay for their purchases without human assistance. 28-61-4. Restrictions on self-service checkout stations.

(a) Grocery stores with self-service checkout stations shall have a minimum of one manual checkout station in operation for every three (3) self-service checkout stations in operation; provided further, there shall be a minimum of one manual checkout station in operation that is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

(b) An employee shall be relieved of all other duties when monitoring any self-service checkout station including, but not limited to, operating a manual checkout station.

(c) A grocery store shall be exempt from the required staffing ratio during off-peak hours. "Off-peak hours" means the period before 8:00 a.m. and after 8:00 p.m., local time, on any calendar day.

(d) A grocery store shall be exempt from the required staffing ratio during a declared state of emergency affecting the geographic area in which the establishment is located or when a severe weather alert is in effect for the geographic area in which the establishment is located, provided that:

(1) Active warning. The exemption applies only during the period the severe weather alert is in effect, as issued or extended by the National Weather Service or applicable state or local emergency management authority; and

(2) Employee safety. The establishment shall not require any employee to report to work or remain at work in conditions the employee reasonably believes pose an imminent threat to their personal safety due to the severe weather event. 28-61-5. Rulemaking authority. The department shall have the primary authority to promulgate rules, regulations, and penalties to enforce the provisions of this chapter. 28-61-6. Violations.

(a) A first violation of the provisions of this chapter shall result in a written warning and no other penalty shall be imposed for such first violation.

(b) Fines for multiple violations made by the same grocery store at the same location shall be equal to wages for one four (4) hour shift based on the highest wage for hourly retail clerks for each day on which there is a violation; provided that, fines shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) per day.

(c) Any employee may file a complaint with the department alleging a violation of this chapter, free from fear of retaliation. Any employee of a grocery store who alleges retaliation by their employer for submitting a complaint alleging violation(s) of this chapter may bring a cause of action in superior court.

(d) If a grocery store does not comply with the provisions of this chapter after thirty (30) days of receiving notice of a violation of this chapter, such non-compliance shall be considered an unlawful act punishable in accordance with §§ 6-13.1-2 and 6-13.1-5.

(e) A consumer who alleges a violation of this chapter may file a complaint with the department. Retaliation against a consumer who files a complaint alleging violation of this chapter shall constitute an unlawful act punishable in accordance with §§ 6-13.1-2 and 6-13.1-5. 28-61-7. Severability. If any part, section, or provision of this chapter is found unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid, such a finding will affect only that part, section or provision of this chapter and the remaining parts, sections, or provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2027.