Santa Ana council to weigh self-checkout staffing ordinance Tuesday

Santa Ana City Council will vote Tuesday on an ordinance requiring supermarkets and pharmacy chains to staff their self-checkout aisles, a move that would make it the latest Orange County city to adopt such a rule amid growing concerns about retail theft.

The proposed measure reflects a regional push across Orange County cities to use workforce mandates as a tool against retail theft, with Costa Mesa already operating under a similar law and Anaheim directing staff to draft comparable legislation.

The ordinance would require one employee on duty before self-checkout lanes open, one dedicated monitor for every three kiosks and a 15-item limit per transaction, according to Voice of OC. Self-checkout purchases of cigarettes and alcohol would be prohibited. Violators could face lawsuits with penalties of up to $1,000 per employee per day.

A Santa Ana city staff report said "increased employee presence in checkout areas improves oversight and may deter retail theft, which has been identified as a growing concern in retail environments," Voice of OC reported. The report added that "establishing minimum staffing ratios reduces the burden on employees tasked with monitoring multiple transactions simultaneously and helps mitigate workplace conflicts."

Nate Rose, a spokesman for the California Grocers Association, said retailers were given no chance to weigh in before the vote was scheduled. "One of the biggest issues we have with this is that they're going to vote on this thing on Tuesday, and we've had no outreach at all to the group, to the grocery community," Rose said in a phone interview Monday. He warned the costs would reach shoppers: "Anytime elected officials pursue laws that increase operational costs, there's just simply no place else for those costs to go, other than to higher prices on grocery store shelves," Rose said.

Jenna Thompson, a spokeswoman for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324, backed the proposal. "When cities pass an ordinance, they will provide thousands of workers — union and non-union — with extra support and better service for customers," Thompson wrote in a Monday email. "UFCW members look forward to seeing Santa Ana pass legislation to ensure quality jobs and safe, positive shopping experiences."

Costa Mesa has already enacted a similar self-checkout staffing ordinance, and the Anaheim City Council has directed staff to draft comparable legislation, Voice of OC reported. If Santa Ana's council approves the measure, the city would join a growing cluster of OC municipalities using employee mandates to address the rising cost of retail theft.

The Santa Ana City Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 6.