Costa Mesa has become the second city in California to regulate self-checkout lanes, passing a new ordinance that limits how many kiosks one employee can monitor and caps the number of items shoppers can ring up on their own. Long Beach, passed a similar first-of-its-kind law last August, making it the first California city to regulate self-checkout
The Costa Mesa City Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday to approve the “Safe Stores are Staffed Stores” ordinance, which takes effect on April 18. According to the Orange County Register, the new rules apply to grocery stores larger than 15,000 square feet and all retail drug establishments with self-checkout stations, affecting nearly two dozen businesses in the city.
Under the ordinance, one dedicated employee must oversee no more than three self-checkout machines at a time. Shoppers are limited to 15 items or fewer at those stations, and no items stored in locked cases may be purchased through self-checkout. A staffed checkout lane must also be open before any self-checkout kiosks can be used…