Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Labor & Workplace Standards Committee
HB 1739
Brief Description: Regulating the use of self-service checkout stations.
Sponsors: Representatives Fosse, Thomas, Simmons, Obras, Reed, Ormsby, Parshley, Hill, Pollet and Ramel.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Requires grocery stores to fulfill certain conditions before offering self-service checkouts.
Hearing Date: 2/12/25
Staff: Benjamin McCarthy (786-7116).
Background:

Washington regulates grocery store staffing in several ways, but generally leaves decisions about staffing levels to the grocery store.? An example of a regulation of grocery store staffing is that when a grocery store changes ownership, it must retain certain grocery workers for a 180-day transition period.? For this regulation, grocery stores are defined as retail stores over 15,000 square feet that primarily sell foodstuffs for off-site consumption.

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Further, all grocery stores must have at least one staff member who is a certified food protection manager and all employees who work with unpackaged food must have a food and beverage service worker's card.
Summary of Bill:

Before providing a self-service checkout, grocery stores, defined as retail stores over 15,000 square feet that primarily sell foodstuffs for off-site consumption,?must fulfill the following conditions:

  • at least one manual checkout station is operating at any time a self-service checkout is open;
  • self-service checkouts are for customers with 15 items or less, and there is signage near the self-service checkout indicating this limit; and
  • an employee who is monitoring self-service checkout is relieved of all other duties and is required to monitor no more than two self-service checkout stations simultaneously.

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An employer who offers self-service checkout must include self-service checkout in its analysis of potential work hazards for accident prevention programs.

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Discount warehouse or retail stores where more than half of the items carried are sold in large quantities or in bulk and where the store requires customers to pay a membership or assessment fee are exempt from these conditions.

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Enforcement.

The Department of Labor and Industries must investigate and enforce employee complaints.? An employer that operates a self-service checkout without meeting these conditions is subject to a civil penalty of $100 a day not to exceed an aggregate penalty of $10,000.? The Attorney General's Office may also institute an action for violation of these conditions, including for injunctive relief.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on February 6, 2025.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.