California Finds Solution To Minimum Wage Hike Layoffs: Ban Self-Checkouts

We've written extensively on California's recent minimum wage hike and the subsequent fall out: increased prices, shuttered businesses, massive layoffs. Often, businesses turn to automation to reduce the workforce and save money in the wake of government-mandated wage increases. Because this looks bad to the politicians who forget the real minimum wage is always zero, the fascists in California have found what we can only assume they think is a work-around to the bad press: ban self-checkouts. A newly proposed bill in California could ban grocery stores and certain retailers from offering self-checkout options for customers in an effort to cut down on theft. Senate Bill 1446 would “prohibit a grocery or retail drug establishment from providing a self-service checkout option for customers unless specified conditions are met,” according to a summary of the proposed legislation.

Some of these conditions are that no more than two self-service checkout stations can be monitored by any one employee and the employee has to be relieved of all other duties, according to the bill summary. It would also make grocers and certain retailers assess the potential impact of using certain artifical intelligence or other technology that “significantly affects the essential job functions of its employees” or completely eliminates their jobs. We're going to lay down the marker right now: rather than put up with this, businesses will either cut business hours, increase the workload of current staff (probably by removing time off/decreasing vacation or sick time) or shut their doors entirely. A newly proposed bill in California could ban grocery stores and certain retailers from offering self-checkout options for customers in an effort to cut down on theft. Crazy idea. What if… we arrested shoplifters?

Now, they say this is to reduce retail theft. Sure, Jan. When has the Democrat Party actually cared about violent crime, let alone retail theft? Besides -- most corporate policies and local laws would punish any employee who tried to stop retail thieves. If it is about retail theft -- arrest and punish the shoplifters. Having cashiers won't stop retail theft, and it'll put lives at risk. If the Dems in California are saying businesses need to eat the losses (which they've been saying for a while, anyway), then the outcome will be the same: businesses will close down. They can't afford to hemorrhage revenue just because it makes a smug politician feel good about himself. This isn't about retail theft, though. There are solutions to address that. It's about saving face in the wake of layoffs. The part about artificial intelligence and it affecting the 'essential job functions' of employees is the tell here.

One bad law to cover another one. Today in California being a totalitarian state… they're looking to severely limit and semi-BAN self-checkout kisoks. It's under the guise of cutting down on theft, but it's clear the progressive nuts want to force stores to hire more people. Yep. It's crystal clear what the motive is here. Anyone wanna bet this is more about labor than theft? It's absolutely about labor and saving face after the last minimum wage increase wreaked havoc on businesses.

• More at: Twitchy - CA Finds Solution to Minimum Wage Hike Layoffs: Ban Self-Checkouts
https://twitchy.com/amy-curtis/2024/05/08/ca-self-checkout-n2396022
New York Post: California bill may remove self-checkout lanes at grocers, certain retailers
https://nypost.com/2024/05/07/us-news/california-bill-could-remove-self-checkout-lanes-at-grocers-certain-retailers/