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After emotional worker testimony, committee declines bill requiring retailers to file safety plans
Summary
Representative Chasson’s substitute for HB 585 would have required small‑box discount retailers to submit workforce safety plans to LA Works; workers described robberies, malfunctioning panic buttons and solo closings, while retailers argued plans are duplicative and raise security and administrative concerns. The motion to report failed and the bill was voluntarily deferred.
Representative Chasson presented a substitute for House Bill 585 requiring small‑box discount retailers (the three major dollar‑store brands and similar outlets) to develop workforce safety plans and submit them to LA Works. The sponsor said the change was a narrow request to collect plans and promote dialogue on best practices after repeated reports of robberies and threats at lone‑staffed stores.
Multiple current and former retail employees described repeated violent incidents and chronic staffing and equipment failures. "I'm terrified to go to work... I pray every day, Lord, please let me make it home to my 8‑year‑old son," Yamika Jones testified, citing robberies, lights going out and nonworking panic buttons. Benjamin Zucker, who organized with retail workers, said dollar‑store workers experience disproportionate violence and urged the legislature to require at least a safety‑plan filing so the state can assess risk across stores.
Representatives with Dollar Tree and the Louisiana Retailers Association opposed the filing requirement, saying they already operate multi‑pillar workplace‑violence prevention programs (training, reporting hotlines, after‑action reviews) and warning that submitted security plans could become public records and reveal vulnerabilities. Retail representatives also said store staffing varies by store size and volume and asserted many locations are staffed with more employees than critics suggested.
Committee members debated the balance between worker safety and regulatory burden. Some members pressed retail witnesses to review local staffing and execution of company policies; others expressed concern about singling out one retail sector. On roll call the motion to report with the substitute failed; the bill was then voluntarily deferred.
What happens next: The substitute narrowed the measure to a state filing and LA Works rulemaking; because the committee voted no and then deferred the bill, sponsors said they would continue to seek stakeholder input and technical fixes before returning it to committee.
Source: testimony and Q&A with Representative Chasson, current and former small‑box retail employees, and industry representatives.
