Rhode Island Just Rewrote the Rules of Self-Checkout — And Costco Has No Choice But to Comply
Walk into any big-box retailer in America on a busy Saturday afternoon and the self-checkout area tells a familiar story: a bank of glowing kiosks staffed by a single, visibly overwhelmed employee trying to manage a dozen transactions at once, while a line of frustrated shoppers stacks up waiting for an age-verification override or a price check that never comes. That image — chaotic, understaffed, impersonal — is exactly what Rhode Island's state government just decided to legislate away. The result is a law that sends a blunt message to every major grocer operating in the country: the era of the unstaffed self-checkout free-for-all may be coming to an end, and the consequences for non-compliance will cost you.
A Landmark Law Signed and Coming Fast
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed the Self-Service Checkout Stations Act into law, making Rhode Island the first state to enforce restrictions at self-checkout. It did not happen quietly. A revised version of the bill passed the state House of Representatives on June 10 and was sent back to the Senate, which passed it June 11, before Governor McKee signed it on June 18. The core mandate is straightforward but operationally significant: the legislation, which the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 328 supported, will require stores to assign at least one worker to staff every three self-checkout stations.
The law goes into effect on January 1, 2027, and its passage marks the first statewide self-checkout staffing ratio in the U.S. as other states consider restrictions on self-checkout. For large-format retailers like Costco, which typically operate multiple self-checkout lanes in a single warehouse, this is not a paper tiger — it carries real teeth and real deadlines.
The Staffing Requirements in Detail
The provisions of the new law go deeper than just a worker-to-kiosk ratio. Once the law takes effect, employees assigned to the self-checkout area must be relieved of all other duties, including working at manned checkout counters. That's a significant operational change for stores that currently expect a single floor associate to float between self-checkout oversight and traditional cashier lanes depending on traffic. Under the new rules, that multi-tasking model is explicitly prohibited.
All grocery stores are required to have one manually staffed cashier lane for every three self-checkout stations, and a worker assigned to self-checkout must not have any other duties. Additionally, one manual cashier lane must always be open in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. That ADA provision is notable — it acknowledges what self-checkout critics have long argued: that these automated systems are inherently inaccessible for significant segments of the shopping public.
Off-Peak Exceptions and Enforcement Mechanisms
The law is not a blunt instrument applied around the clock. Grocery stores won't have to follow the staffing ratio during off-peak hours — before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m. — or during any declared state of emergency or severe weather alert. That carve-out gives retailers some operational breathing room during slow windows, though the core business hours when stores see the bulk of their foot traffic remain fully subject to the ratio requirement.
On the enforcement side, the law takes a graduated approach. Grocers that violate the law will first receive a written warning before facing fines for multiple violations that occur at the same store. The fines, which cannot exceed $500 per day, will match wages for one four-hour shift based on the highest wage for hourly retail clerks for each day a violation occurs. Persistent non-compliance carries escalating consequences: for multiple violations by the same grocery store, fines per day are set at the wages for one eight-hour shift based on the highest hourly wage for retail clerks, capped at $1,000 per day. If a store still fails to comply 30 days after receiving notice of a violation, that non-compliance becomes an "unlawful act" enforceable under the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act provisions.
The law also empowers workers directly. Any employee may file a complaint with the state Department of Labor and Training alleging a violation. An employee who alleges retaliation for filing a complaint can bring a cause of action in superior court. Consumers may also file complaints with the Department of Labor and Training if they believe the law is being violated. This creates a dual enforcement channel — both employee and customer complaints can trigger regulatory scrutiny, making quiet non-compliance a risky strategy for any retailer.
Years in the Making: How Rhode Island Got Here
This law did not spring fully formed out of a single legislative session. This isn't the first time such a bill has been introduced in the Rhode Island General Assembly. The proposal has been through multiple iterations, each one shaped by the political and economic pressures of its moment. The 2023 version of the bill capped self-checkouts at eight with a 1-to-1 staffing requirement — meaning one employee for every self-checkout kiosk, a far more aggressive standard than what ultimately passed. The 2025 version of the bill required at least one staffed checkout lane for every two self-checkout stations and capped stores to six self-checkouts. The version that finally crossed the finish line loosened the ratio to one employee per three machines, a compromise that reflected industry pushback while still establishing the country's first mandatory staffing floor. The ratio has loosened over successive sessions, a sign that even in a union-friendly state, legislators had to negotiate with the economic realities of modern retail.
The Union Fingerprints on the Legislation
Labor's role in pushing this bill cannot be overstated. The passage of the Rhode Island legislation notches another win for the UFCW, as the bill was part of the labor group's "Affordable Groceries and Good Jobs Campaign." That campaign also aims to ban retailers' use of electronic shelf labels and eliminate pricing practices that the labor group claims are discriminatory. The self-checkout staffing ratio, in other words, is not the endgame — it is one front in a broader labor movement offensive against retail automation.
UFCW Local 328 Secretary-Treasurer Domenic Pontarelli made the union's position plain. "UFCW Local 328 members in the grocery industry are often overburdened, having to monitor too many self-checkouts while shoppers face delays," Pontarelli said. "Staffing ratios fix this issue for all parties." It's a framing that tries to cast this as a consumer protection measure, not merely a labor protection one — and the law's sponsors have leaned into that dual narrative from the start.
The lawmakers who sponsored the newly enacted Rhode Island law did so because they were concerned that self-checkouts can overtax workers and frustrate shoppers, particularly older ones, according to a press release from the state's General Assembly. Governor McKee echoed that sentiment at the signing. "Today, we're protecting jobs and strengthening customer service," 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."
Representative Megan Cotter (D-Exeter) is the primary sponsor of the House version of the legislation, and she said the bill is about both cashier and customer protection. Critics, however, have noted the financial ties between the bill's backers and labor organizations. According to campaign finance reports, both key legislative supporters of the bill have received donations in recent years from several unions. One lawmaker received at least $3,000 in donations from a major education union since 2024 and received several donations from unions in 2026. Whether those contributions influenced the legislation is a matter of interpretation, but they are part of the public record.
Industry Opposition: Not Everyone Is Celebrating
The Rhode Island Food Dealers Association had a notably different reaction to the signing ceremony. The association did not celebrate the occasion because it believes traditional grocery stores are now at a competitive disadvantage. The association said the restrictions could lead to longer lines and higher prices. That argument — that mandated staffing raises labor costs that ultimately flow through to shelf prices — is the standard industry counterpoint to union-backed retail regulation, and it is not without merit in an environment where grocery margins are already thin.
The Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce was equally blunt in its criticism. The president and CEO of the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce said businesses must continually adapt, but this bill doesn't help businesses or consumers. "One way for the retail industry to adapt is to provide customers with an opportunity to self check their purchases," Monika P. Zuluaga wrote. "Many customers actually prefer this option. S.2342 discourages the use of such technology, thus placing a business in a difficult situation of being unable to serve the majority of its customers."
The competitive disadvantage argument cuts in a specific direction worth noting. According to the law, "grocery store" means a business that earns the majority of its gross income from the retail sale of groceries. That definition matters enormously for how the law applies across the retail landscape — and why warehouse clubs like Costco find themselves in the crosshairs. Costco's product mix is heavy on grocery staples, making its Rhode Island locations almost certainly subject to the law's requirements.
The National Picture: Rhode Island Is Not Alone
Rhode Island's law is the first of its kind at the state level, but the legislative momentum behind it reflects a national shift in how policymakers are thinking about automation in retail. As of now, different legislation would affect how self-checkout lanes are operated in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California, Ohio, and New York. The specifics vary widely by jurisdiction, but the direction of travel is unmistakable.
Long Beach, California, became the first city to pass an ordinance with staffing requirements for self-checkout last August. Retailers must staff self-checkout areas with at least one employee for every three self-checkout stations and must limit self-checkout purchases to no more than 15 items. Customers also cannot use self-checkout to purchase age-restricted items such as alcohol and tobacco or items locked to prevent theft.
Massachusetts has also moved in this direction, though without crossing the finish line quite yet. Massachusetts has similar self-checkout sanctions that ban stores from operating more than eight self-checkout lanes. The Bay State also requires that for every two self-checkout lanes in use, one traditional checkout lane must be available. A nearly identical proposal was considered by the Massachusetts Legislature last year but did not pass, though the issue remains live in the statehouse. Meanwhile, New York City council member Amanda Farías (D-Bronx) recently put forward draft legislation that would establish a 15-item cap for customers utilizing self-checkout aisles in the city's supermarkets and drugstores. It would also mandate that qualifying retailers deploy a minimum of one staff member for every three automated checkout stations.
Ohio's proposed laws could require shoppers to visit a traditional cashier if they're purchasing items that require ID, like alcohol. The patchwork of state and local legislation creates an increasingly complex compliance landscape for national retailers, with each jurisdiction layering its own rules on top of existing company policies. For a chain like Costco, which operates hundreds of warehouses across the country and has already been wrestling with its own self-checkout strategy independent of government mandates, this legislative wave complicates planning considerably.
Costco's Checkout Evolution: Already Moving Away From Self-Service
Here is the twist that makes the Rhode Island law particularly interesting from Costco's perspective: the warehouse giant was already pulling back from self-checkout before any government told it to. Costco has removed numerous self-checkout stations from its 643 stores across the country, in an effort to "phase out or severely restrict the feature," according to The New York Post. The motivation there was less about labor solidarity and more about operational efficiency and membership integrity — self-checkout had become a loophole for non-members to use borrowed cards, and the warehouse club model depends entirely on membership revenue being protected.
In place of the self-checkout kiosks, Costco has been piloting a new checkout approach that is genuinely novel. After eliminating many self-checkout stations, the warehouse retailer began piloting a new checkout approach which allegedly takes just eight seconds and can "accelerate throughput while reducing errors." This checkout method involves a Costco employee coming to shoppers' carts to scan every item. When members reach the register, they can scan their membership card and all scanned items appear on the register's display. After that, all that remains is to pay.
Customer reactions to this new checkout approach have been divided. Plenty of shoppers appreciate it, with one individual stating they found it "very convenient" and said it "definitely speeds check out." However, it is Costco employees who absolutely loathe it. Several workers took to the CostcoEmployee sub-Reddit to vent their frustrations, with one user writing that it "usually ends up taking longer than just taking the stuff out of the basket and ringing it up at the register," citing problems like missed items and double charges at the register from pre-scanning errors.
On the technology side, Costco is also exploring a mobile-first alternative that would compete with what Sam's Club has built. Costco aims to become more competitive with similar technology in 2026. The company announced in the summer of 2025 that it was piloting Scan & Pay in 27 stores across the country. The aim was for the process to be operational in those select stores by the end of that year, before a potential wider rollout if successful. This smartphone-based checkout model — where members scan items as they load their cart and pay through the app — sidesteps the traditional self-checkout kiosk question entirely, which may ultimately prove to be the cleanest path through an increasingly regulated environment.
The Membership Engine Behind All of It
To understand why Costco's checkout decisions carry such weight, you have to understand the financial engine underneath the whole operation. Costco earns a significant amount of money each year from selling memberships. In a February 2026 earnings call, executives shared that the warehouse chain boasts more than 81 million paid members, which generates more than $1.3 billion per year. That membership revenue is what allows Costco to price products with razor-thin margins and still turn a profit. Any checkout system that undermines membership integrity — whether it's self-checkout kiosks that allow card sharing or staffing arrangements that stretch associates too thin to verify IDs — is a direct threat to that model.
Costco employees continue to earn raises during their tenure, with the warehouse reporting in 2025 that the average Costco staffer earned $31 per hour in stores across the U.S. and Canada. Costco's hourly rates outpace other retailers like Target and Walmart, which have starting ranges that tend to be at least a few dollars below the $20 mark. That wage structure means the additional labor costs associated with dedicated self-checkout staffing, as Rhode Island now requires, are somewhat less shocking at Costco than they might be at a traditional supermarket chain — the company is already paying its people well above the industry floor.
What the Law Gets Right — and What It Gets Wrong
At its core, the Rhode Island law is a response to a real problem. Anyone who has stood in a self-checkout line while a single employee sprints between a broken machine, an age-verification request, and a confused shopper who can't figure out where to put their reusable bag understands the frustration the law is trying to address. The law aims not only to improve the customer experience but also to curb theft at self-checkouts, the UFCW said — and the theft angle is significant. Shrinkage at self-checkout lanes has been a documented problem across the retail industry, with both intentional shoplifting and accidental item-scanning errors contributing to billions in losses annually.
The argument against the law is equally coherent. Mandating a specific staffing ratio is a blunt legislative tool applied to an industry that operates on tight margins and varies enormously in store size, customer volume, and product mix. A small neighborhood grocery store in Providence operates nothing like a Costco warehouse. Applying the same ratio to both — one dedicated employee per three self-checkout stations — creates a one-size-fits-all compliance burden that may work smoothly for a high-volume warehouse club but crushes a smaller independent grocer. The Rhode Island Food Dealers Association's warning about higher prices and longer lines is not empty rhetoric; when labor costs rise without a corresponding increase in throughput, those costs go somewhere, and historically they go into prices.
The lawmakers who sponsored the law were concerned that self-checkouts can overtax workers and frustrate shoppers, particularly older ones. That is a legitimate concern. But the law's critics would argue that the market was already sorting some of this out — retailers like Costco were voluntarily pulling back from unlimited self-checkout because the operational and reputational costs were outweighing the labor savings. Government mandates have a way of locking in solutions at the exact moment the market is already evolving past them.
The Broader Retail Implications
Rhode Island's self-checkout law does not exist in isolation. It is part of a broader political realignment around retail labor that has been building for years. Although the State of California is considering a bill, it is less restrictive and burdensome than the Rhode Island measure. The fact that even California — hardly a state known for being friendly to retail business — is opting for a lighter touch suggests that Rhode Island's law represents the aggressive edge of what is politically achievable, not the new baseline.
Self-checkout rules vary by state but may include item limits, ID-required purchases going to staffed lanes, and restrictions based on local laws. For national retailers, that patchwork creates a compliance nightmare. A store manager at a Costco in Providence is operating under a fundamentally different legal framework than a counterpart in Phoenix or Dallas. Inventory systems, staffing models, floor layouts, and employee training programs that were built for a unified national standard now need to flex for state-by-state variation. The administrative overhead of that flexibility is real, and it favors large chains with sophisticated compliance infrastructure over smaller regional grocers.
What Rhode Island has started — a state-level regulation of checkout automation — is almost certainly not going to stop with Rhode Island. The political dynamics that produced this law exist in blue-leaning states across the Northeast and Pacific Coast. Union political power, senior voter concerns about technology accessibility, and bipartisan anxieties about job displacement from automation have created a legislative coalition that is not going away. Retailers that are not already preparing for a multi-state patchwork of self-checkout regulations are behind the curve.
What Shoppers Should Expect Going Forward
For the average American who shops at Costco or any major grocery chain, the practical impact of Rhode Island's law depends entirely on geography and timing. If you shop in Rhode Island, expect the checkout experience at your local grocer to look meaningfully different by January 1, 2027. There will be a dedicated associate stationed at the self-checkout zone who is not simultaneously juggling other responsibilities. There will always be at least one fully staffed traditional cashier lane open. If the store can't meet that standard during peak hours, it is technically out of compliance and subject to fines.
If you shop at Costco specifically, the shift may be less jarring than at traditional supermarkets, because the company has already been moving in this direction on its own terms. The cart-scanning system Costco has been piloting, the broader rollout of its Scan & Pay mobile app, and the company's general retreat from self-checkout kiosks all point toward a checkout experience that is less automated and more human-assisted than what shoppers saw five years ago — regardless of what any state legislature mandates.
Self-checkout policies now vary depending on state regulations, creating different rules across regions. These changes are meant to improve safety, reduce misuse, and better balance automated and staffed checkout lanes. Whether those outcomes materialize will depend on how rigorously the law is enforced and how creatively retailers adapt to its constraints. The one certainty is that the checkout lane — that mundane, overlooked stretch of floor between you and the parking lot — has become a genuine political battleground, and the fight is just getting started.
