Bill would put limits on self-checkout at grocery stores in Massachusetts

There's a push on Beacon Hill to limit self-checkout at grocery stores in Massachusetts.

Democratic state Sen. Paul Feeney is sponsoring "An Act Regulating Self-Checkouts in Grocery Establishments." 

"We've gotten a lot of momentum behind it," Feeney told WBZ-TV. "We see this as a common-sense piece of legislation."

What does the self-checkout bill do?

The bill says, "Grocery stores shall not have more than 8 self-service checkout stations operating at any one time per location." It would require grocery stores with self-checkout kiosks to have at least one manual checkout station for every two self-checkouts.

The proposed legislation also says employees who monitor the self-checkout lanes should not be assigned to other tasks at the same time, like operating a manual checkout.

Stores that break the rules would face fines that are the equivalent of a retail clerk's full day of pay and benefits. 

Why regulate self-checkouts?

Feeney said there are growing frustrations from employees and customers over self-checkout.

"It is impossible for some people to try and figure these things out," he said. "Especially older folks as they go into these stores, and then they turn around and there's nobody there to actually talk to."

Feeney said he's not trying to ban self-checkout at stores. But the measure is opposed by the supermarket industry.

"It is not the responsibility of the state to determine how, when, and where a business deploys its staff," the Massachusetts Food Association, which represents grocery stores and supermarkets, said in a statement. "Many customers prefer the convenience provided by self-checkout stations that allow them to save time and get in and out quickly. It should remain the choice of the customer to use self-checkout if they wish to do so."

Feeney said he's trying to protect "solid middle-class working class job" and wants lawmakers to "put in some guardrails" for technology that can do jobs that previously only humans could do.

"We're at a crossroads. We have cars driving themselves on the road. You have all sorts of technology that's being employed on a rapid basis," he said. "We think it's smart as policymakers to just kind of slow that down."