Rhode Island passes law restricting number of self-checkout lanes allowed in stores

notthebee.com ^ | Jul 3, 2026

[V_TWIN]

Rhode Island has become the first state to take on big ... self-checkout?

Legislation passed and signed in the Ocean State limits the number of self-checkout lanes a store is allowed to have, and it's based on the ratio of normal checkout lanes with cashiers. The goal is to protect jobs.

Here's WPRI:

'Today, we're protecting jobs and strengthening customer service,' [Rhode Island Governor Dan] McKee said. 'Whether it's helping a customer with an issue, assisting a senior, or ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities, this law is about preserving choice and keeping people at the center of the shopping experience.'

Stores have to have one manned checkout lane open for every three self-checkout lanes.

They also have to have an employee who oversees the self-checkout area, and that employee is not allowed to be assigned any other tasks while they stand around watching people self-checkout.

The law also states that stores all have to have a manned register to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

And if you don't abide by these restrictions, it'll cost you $1,000 a day!

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[V_TWIN]

The policy of not even attempting to deter shoplifting only emboldens thieves to do it more.

And who ends up taking it in the shorts with higher prices due to pilferage?......the law abiding consumer.

[MayflowerMadam]

I hate self checkout. If they want to give me a 10% discount in my bill for doing someone else’s job I might consider it.

At our Walmart they installed a huge number of self checkout lanes, which lasted for about a year. People hated and avoided them. Then they put it back to the old way.

I’ve heard that it’s easier to start using those lanes, but IDK if that’s true.

[MayflowerMadam]

The Food City employees here take the items out of the cart, scan, and bag. It’s great.

[MayflowerMadam]

What about the people who don’t scan some of their items and walk out the door?

[AppyPappy]

What I really love is no bagging. Everything goes back in the buggy to take to the car. I have real bags in the car. I don’t want to deal with a human. I’m a grown azz man, 44 years as a programmer. I can do this all by myself.

[Magic Fingers]

“I can only think of one reason to self check out with a cart load.”

I can think of another. At a Kroger’s (Fry’s in Phoenix) a few days ago, mid-day on a weekday, the “super store” had a grand total of ONE register staffed and 7 customers in line (most with full carts). The option was to slog through self check out or wait for...IDK, maybe 30 minutes?

[suthener]

“What about the people who don’t scan some of their items and walk out the door?”

Sam’s manually verifies regular check out, but I couldn’t explain how they do it with scan and go but here is the AI explanation and it’s accurate:

Sam’s Club verifies Scan & Go purchases using a combination of mobile app verification and AI-powered exit archways. When using the app, members scan items directly to their cart and receive a dynamic barcode for exit. Traditionally, staff at the door scan this barcode and manually verify a few items in the cart to ensure accuracy.

To eliminate this wait, Sam’s Club has deployed AI and computer vision technology at exit gates. These systems capture 360-degree images of the shopping cart and use artificial intelligence to automatically match the cart’s contents against the member’s recent transaction data.

Scan and go actually eliminates the manual check as well as regular check out. I love it.

[MayflowerMadam]

I figured they would have a super-tech way to thwart the cheaters

[Lurker]

Just saw that the other day.

Loved it.

L

[drwoof]

Don’t get me started on flippin’ parking ‘kiosks’...

Used to be I could go downtown, park, drop a quarter or two in the meter right next to my car (or use CC), and immediately go about enjoying lunch or some shopping with friends and local merchants. Parking was seamless, quick, and uncomplicated. Now I go downtown and the first thing that happens is I get a homework assignment (and tell some data center where I am, at what time, for how long, and in what vehicle... but that’s another subject entirely... kinda...). All just because some unclear-on-the-concept bureaucrat at City Hall fell for some salesman’s pitch. I avoid going downtown now, sadly. More sadly downtown businesses are closing right and left, after reporting massive reductions in foot traffic and revenue immediately upon removal of the ‘outdated’ meters and installation of the kiosks. It’s been over two years, and we just lost another decades-old mainstay retailer last week. Not good.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Our little town on the San Fran Peninsula still has 2 hours free parking on the street and in two parking plazas behind either side of Main Street. Those parking plazas have been there for 80 years and they work great.

Now the bastards on the city council want to convert one to a city park and there were plans to build multi-story housing on the other. The developer won’t even be required to put enough underground parking in the project. Governments at every level are so brain-dead and corrupt.

The STATE of CA has demanded that every town must accept its “fair share” of housing. You cannot simply declare “we are all built out and we aren’t going to play that game.” The state sues towns to oblivion to comply. Our town went through FIVE revisions to its “housing element” of the plan and the state rejected them all. The legal costs were killing us. The town finally gave up and did what the state wants. Now there’s a HUGE 5-story building topping-out on Main Street; since incorporation 75 years ago, the town has had a strict 2-story height limit. The state created what they called a “bonus” for developers to build bigger buildings. It’s all infuriating and sickening.

[drwoof]

Absolutely with you. Same all over CA. State law overriding local land use regulations, design review, etc., all in the name of ‘affordable housing’, of which there will never be enough. No local hearings, no need to comply with zoning regulations, etc. Our cities are being destroyed by centralized planning. People are becoming multimillionaires as a result. They have excellent lobbyists, and our ‘leaders’ in Sacramento generally aren’t very bright. And many are corrupt beyond belief.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

The irony is the state is shrinking and losing a quarter million high-income people per year. So who is the housing getting built for?

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

LOL at Walmart there are more employees watching the self checkouts than there are manning the registers. Those Walmart employees that you think are standing around playing on their phones are actually watching an ap that shows what’s being rung up at the self checkout.

[GingisK]

...ass backwards I know but here we are...

The stores assume that the merchandise isn't worth the life of any employee. Good call.

[V_TWIN]

Cycling for exercise there is a Khol’s department store located on my normal route.

Riding by during the Christmas season it’s a rare occurrence that at some point I don’t see a police car parked up front with someone sitting in the back.

I can think of no other scenario than the store caught a shoplifter and plans to prosecute.

So apparently there is a model that successfully controls theft without endangering employees in the process.

[drwoof]

That’s a very good question. My answer would be: It’s getting built for the guys (and gals) who years ago figured out a way (’tax credit financing’, etc.) to bilk us of our tax dollars and make themselves quite wealthy and spoil a few corrupt/low IQ politicians with ‘campaign contributions’, gifts, travel, etc. It’s a very elegant virtue signaling scam (’We build affordable housing!”). My cat has more intellectual horsepower than the useful idiots involved in all of this, all the way from the Governor’s Office to the local City Councils and bureaucrats.

[sheana]

The Walmarts here have few/if any full service lanes open. I was told by a friend that used to work at Walmart that if you ask they are required to check you out even in the self service lanes. Ever since then I make them do it for me if I have a substantial number of items. lol Recently I had about 10 items and when I went to scan the boxed shrimp I was buying I noticed the box was open. So I called the one gal over that was watching the self checkout lanes. I said...this is open I need another one. She said she would save my register while I went to get another one. I said no, you go get it. She said I’m the only one here. Then call someone else to do it. lol She did. I don’t get paid to do all that stuff so I make them do what is supposed to be their job.

[Mr Rogers]

“I can only think of one reason to self check out with a cart load.”

You want to get it right?

I only use an employee checkout if no self-checkout is available. I like KNOWING my bill is correct. But then, I don’t go shopping for 123 small items. A completely full cart means I have large items in the cart.

My wife does the once-a-month, go to Costco and spend 3 hours stock up type of shopping. She enjoys that.

And I hate using employee check out. Just like I would rather use a self-serve kiosk at McDonald’s than hope an employee gets my order right.

[oldtech]

I don’t believe in cheating at self checkout lanes, but I also don’t believe in turning in people who might do that. At the same time, the self checkouts eliminated a certain amount of standing in line congestion at our local Wal-Mart. Which is better? Well, plenty of self checkout should help standing in line,but does encourage theft. Hiring more checker-operated lanes means hiring more people which may cost more. I would say they need to figure out which way is most cost effective & go heavily that way.