As the first state to enact staffing requirements for self-checkout lanes, Rhode Island is becoming a test case for the retail industry.
Set to take effect on January 1, 2027, the law requires grocery stores to maintain one staffed cashier lane for every three self-checkout stations.
It also mandates that employees assigned to monitor self-checkout have no other duties, and that at least one staffed cashier lane remain open at all hours to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Grocers that fail to meet these standards face fines equal to the wages of one full shift at the highest hourly rate, up to $1,000 per day.
Addressing a Variety of Concerns
The legislation is intended to address several concerns. Rhode Island lawmakers have highlighted the benefits for older shoppers who may not feel comfortable using self-checkout, while the United Food & Commercial Workers union supported the measure as a way to help protect union grocery jobs. Retailers have also found that monitoring self-checkout can require more staffing resources than initially anticipated.
“Although the actual impact of the bill remains to be seen, retailers have already come to view self-checkout in much the same light as AI,” said Don Apgar, Director of Merchant Payments at Javelin Strategy & Research. “It’s not a replacement for staff, it’s a tool to make staff more efficient. Early implementations of self-checkout frustrated consumers because retailers saw the technology as a way to operate with fewer staff, but retailers quickly realized that staff is still needed to assist customers.”
Another impetus is theft prevention. Research from Capital One shows that theft increases by us much as 65% at self-checkout compared with traditional checkout lanes, and more than a quarter of respondents admitted having used self-checkout to steal.
As a result, many retailers have scaled back self-checkout in recent years. Dollar General removed self-checkout from roughly 12,000 stores, while some Walmart locations have begun reserving self-checkout lanes exclusively for Walmart+ members.
Watching the Rhode Island Experience
Other states weighing similar restrictions are likely to take note as Rhode Island puts its new rules into practice. New York, California, Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Ohio have all discussed restricting self-checkout.
Last August, Long Beach, California, became the first city to enact staffing requirements for self-checkout.
“In many ways, this feels a lot like states’ efforts around surcharging on card transactions,” said Apgar. “It’s a very pro-consumer stance. Enforcement and compliance are another issue. It’s doubtful the state will have staff patrolling stores and counting staff to be sure there is one employee for every three checkout stations, but will likely be driven by customer complaints of poor service.”
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