New York City lawmakers want to tell you how many items you can scan at self-checkout — and fine stores that don't play along.
Council members in New York City have introduced legislation that would impose a maximum 15-item limit at self-checkout kiosks in supermarkets and pharmacies, require one staff member for every three active self-service registers, and levy daily fines of at least $100 on retailers that fail to comply. Democrat Councilwoman Amanda Farias and Republican Councilwoman Joann Ariola from Queens are among the officials who have weighed in on the proposal, which supporters say is aimed at curbing retail theft across the Big Apple.
According to The U.S. Sun, the issue has sparked sharp debate between those who see the measure as a necessary worker-protection tool and those who view it as yet another layer of government interference in the retail marketplace. Critics from both the business community and the political right have questioned whether limiting self-checkout use actually addresses the root causes of shoplifting.
The bill targets supermarkets and pharmacies operating in New York City. Under the proposed rules, no customer would be permitted to use a self-checkout lane with more than 15 items. Retailers would also need to staff at least one employee for every three active self-service registers.
Stores that do not meet these requirements would face daily fines of at least $100. Farias said the item limit is designed to "maintain safety, accountability, and fairness in the checkout process." The staffing mandate, she argued, is necessary to restore oversight that has eroded as stores have shifted toward automation.
"We've seen the consequences of removing workers from these spaces: increased retail theft, less oversight, fewer protections for both workers and customers, and generally decreased safety," Farias said. She added: "This bill is about protecting good jobs, supporting workers on the front lines and creating a more secure shopping environment for New Yorkers."
Not everyone in the council chambers is on board. Republican Councilwoman Joann Ariola from Queens pushed back firmly, saying the measure misdirects enforcement away from actual criminals. "Instead of actually trying to punish criminals, my colleagues are pushing to make life even harder for businesses and consumers," Ariola said.
That sentiment was echoed by Jason Ferraira, a board member of the National Supermarket Association, who called the proposal a "horrible idea." Ferraira told The New York Post that mandating employee ratios does nothing to stop theft at its source. He urged lawmakers to instead focus on boosting police presence and imposing harsher penalties for shoplifting.
"You don't prevent shoplifting by making me have a certain ratio of employees," Ferraira said. "People shoplift in a lot of different ways. Some shoplift through self-checkout. Some go through the regular cashier checkout. Some people bypass the checkout altogether and go straight to the floor."
New York City is not acting in isolation. A new bill in Connecticut aims to limit how many self-checkouts can be operated at any given time. Similar rules are reportedly being rolled out in Mesa, California, next month, featuring item limits and staffing ratios — a development that has prompted a new bill in another Orange County city as well.
Retail theft is reportedly costing the industry over $100 billion a year, though the methodology behind that figure was not cited in connection with this legislation. That staggering number has become the primary justification for policymakers seeking to regulate the self-checkout experience, even as skeptics question whether checkout lane rules move the needle on organized theft rings or brazen walkouts.
Target began testing a 10-item limit at self-checkout lanes in around 200 stores in 2023. The company expanded that policy nationwide in 2024, signaling that private-sector retailers are independently experimenting with similar constraints — but on their own terms, without a government mandate.
There's a critical distinction between a company like Target voluntarily testing checkout limits and a city council imposing those limits by law. When a private business adjusts its checkout policy, it does so in response to customer behavior, theft data, and operational efficiency. When the government does it, the decision is made by people who don't bear the cost of getting it wrong.
Mandating staffing ratios and item caps doesn't just inconvenience shoppers — it raises operating costs for stores already navigating thin margins in the grocery business. Those costs inevitably get passed to consumers in the form of higher prices, reduced hours, or even store closures in neighborhoods that can least afford them. For a city that already struggles with cost-of-living pressures, adding compliance burdens to grocery retailers seems counterproductive at best.
If the goal is truly to reduce retail theft, the smarter path likely runs through better enforcement of existing laws and a judicial system that treats repeat offenders seriously — not through micromanaging how many yogurt cups a New Yorker can scan at a kiosk. Businesses should be free to configure their checkout systems based on what works, not what a city council committee decided sounds good in a press release.