Lawmakers in California are hoping to push through controversial legislation that would ban retail staff from stopping thieves stealing from their stores.
Senate Bill 553, which was submitted by State Senator Dave Cortese, has been passed by the State Senate and will now progress to policy committees in the State Assembly. Cortese hopes the proposed law will prevent workplace violence and protect staff from being forced by their employers to step-in during robberies. But some store bosses are furious about the plans, with the California Retailers Association mocking the move as an open invitation for thieves "to come in and steal."
The political wrangling in California comes just weeks after Home Depot security guard Blake Mohs, 26, was shot to death during an attempted robbery in Pleasanton, California. Other cities in the state are also facing their own problems as they attempt to deal with lawlessness.
San Francisco has been gripped by a crimewave that has seen Whole Foods close its downtown location after just a year of business, with bosses saying they were unable to "ensure the safety" of their staff in the city. Nordstrom followed suit by leaving the city this month, but many smaller businesses have had no choice but to remain, despite attacks on their premises.
The proposed new laws come as stores have blamed shoplifting for hitting their businesses, with Target issuing a statement in November blaming "organized retail crime" for an eye-watering $400 million loss in its profits in 2022.Cortese, a Democrat representing much of Santa Clara County in the heart of Silicon Valley, told Newsweek: "SB 553 is focused on protecting employees. The bill does not prohibit employees from stopping theft. It does prevent employers from asking non-security personnel to confront a person involved in criminal activity. We don't want rank and file employees to be forced to place themselves in harm's way."
During an interview with Fox 2/KTVU, he said: "More recently, we've seen another spike in retail violence; [At] Safeways, Home Depots, it just seems to be happening every other day... What we're saying in the bill is it's not ok for employers to take a rank-and-file worker, somebody whose job is really something else... and say, 'Hey, you know, if there's an intruder we're going to deputize you to intervene.' People get hurt and often killed that way."SB 553 is not targeted at—and does not affect—trained security guards. In fact, the bill highlights the need for dedicated safety personnel.
But Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association, told Fox 2/KTVU: "This bill goes way too far, number one, where I think it will open the doors even wider for people to come in and steal from our stores."
And she added that most stores already prevent ordinary workers from confronting shoplifters, saying that most hire employees specifically trained in theft prevention for that purpose. "It [the bill] says no employee can approach someone who's shoplifting, so even if someone is trained on how to deter someone from doing that, now they're not allowed to approach someone. So what does that mean? We are opening up the doors to allow people to just walk into stores, steal, and walk out."
