Retail workers testify as House panel splits over Dollar‑store safety plan bill; substitute fails

A bill that would require small-box discount retailers to provide workplace safety plans to Louisiana Works drew sharply split reaction and a failed committee vote Wednesday.

Representative Chasson introduced House Bill 585, a substitute titled the Discount Retailer Workforce Safety and Retention Act, which would require covered small-box discount retailers to develop and implement a written workforce safety plan and submit it to the secretary of Louisiana Works; the substitute also incorporates earlier sensitive amendment sets and technical fixes.

Sponsor Rep. Chasson said the measure is meant to bring awareness and training to an expanding retail sector and said Louisiana Works welcomed the plans. ‘‘If you have a safety plan, please submit it,’’ she said in explanation to the committee.

Workers who testified said plans and training are uneven in practice. David Williams, a current Dollar General employee, said management once instructed him to stack cases of water in front of a fire exit; the store later caught fire. ‘‘That gets to the heart of this bill,’’ Williams said, urging that employees know and be trained on plans rather than learning them ad hoc.

Kenya Slaughter, a former dollar-store worker who organizes retail employees, told the committee she has not seen adequate staffing or functioning panic devices at many stores and said requiring plans would improve worker safety and knowledge of emergency procedures.

Retail industry representatives pushed back. Jessica Elliott, executive director of the Louisiana Retailers Association, said many large retailers already provide onboarding training and that mandating submission or creating punitive consequences could impose administrative burdens and unintended liability risks for small businesses. Committee members debated whether requiring plans would create an "assumption of duty" that increases litigation exposure. Rep. Glorioso argued replacing mandatory language ("shall") with permissive language ("may") would address those concerns; the committee adopted a concept amendment to make submission permissive.

After hearing testimony and discussion, a motion to report the substitute failed by recorded vote (five nays, three ayes). The sponsor moved to defer the bill voluntarily. Committee members said they would continue to work on the language.

Next steps: HB 585 was not reported out of committee; the sponsor indicated intent to work with stakeholders and bring revised language back at a later time.