Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Retail Worker Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council advances draft ordinance requiring staffing at grocery/drug self-checkouts with edits for clarity
Summary
On first reading the council advanced a draft ordinance that would set staffing requirements for self‑checkout stations at grocery and drug stores to reduce retail theft and improve worker safety; the council asked the city attorney to remove a vague term and adjusted the staff-to-station ratio before returning the ordinance for further review.
The Long Beach City Council advanced on first reading a proposed ordinance that would establish staffing and operational requirements for self‑checkout stations at grocery and drug stores, after making two directed edits and asking the city attorney to return with the revised draft.
Councilmember Mary Zendejas, the ordinance author, framed the measure as a public‑safety and worker‑protection step. “Our residents and local workers deserve to feel safe at work and in our grocery stores,” Zendejas said in opening remarks. The proposal followed months of stakeholder meetings and a staff memo of options.
Workers, union representatives and community groups provided a high volume of public comment urging the council to adopt firm staffing rules. Grocery workers described stress and safety incidents at unattended self‑checkout areas. Long‑time cashier Linda Mounia said, “Working 6 self checkouts at the same time is just as stressful and difficult…,” and other employees and union organizers echoed calls for guaranteed staffing and clearer enforcement tools.
Business groups urged caution and asked the council to align with pending state legislation. The Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce submitted a letter urging the council to consider a provision that would defer to future state law (SB 442 referenced) to avoid creating a regulatory island. The California Grocers Association asked the council not to move forward while similar state legislation and recently negotiated contracts remain under way.
Council deliberations focused on vagueness in several draft provisions and potential exposure to private lawsuits. Councilmember Kerr proposed a friendly amendment to change the minimum monitoring ratio; councilmembers agreed to move from a 1:2 ratio to a 1:3 staffing ratio (one employee per three self‑checkout stations). The council also asked the city attorney to remove the word “adequate” from a phrase describing observation requirements to reduce ambiguity. The council then carried a motion to have the city attorney return with the edited ordinance for first reading at the next meeting.
Outcome: The council carried the motion to revise the draft ordinance, removing the word “adequate” from the observation requirement and changing the monitoring ratio from 1:2 to 1:3. The city attorney will return with the revised text for a future reading; the ordinance has not yet been finally adopted.
What’s next: City attorney staff will edit the ordinance language as directed, and the item will return for a future reading after those clarifications are incorporated. Stakeholders on both sides said they would continue negotiating and monitoring related state legislation.
