A proposed bill in the Washington State legislature, House Bill 1739, aims to restrict the use of self-checkout stations in grocery stores, according to a Northwest Labor Press report. The bill would limit self-checkout to situations where a traditional checkout lane is open and for customers purchasing 15 items or fewer.
The proposed legislation also mandates that employees monitoring self-checkout stations do so exclusively, supervising no more than two stands at a time.
«These devices are linked in study after study to increases in theft, increases in minor access to alcohol, increases of mental health strain to workers, and increases in bullying and harassment and even violence,» Joe Mizrahi, UFCW Local 3000 secretary-treasurer, said during a hearing on the bill. «I should also mention these devices automate union jobs that would otherwise bring good, stable wages into our communities.»
Introduced by State Representative Mary Fosse (D-Everett), the bill is currently under consideration by the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee.