Over the past decade, a growing number of state and local governments have embraced what we have previously described as the “municipalization” of employment law, increasingly regulating workplace issues that historically were addressed through collective bargaining or state labor standards. From supplemental pay and scheduling practices to workload requirements and staffing mandates, municipalities and state legislatures are playing an expanding role in shaping terms and conditions of employment. That trend now appears to be extending into the regulation of retail automation. Labor organizations and worker advocates across California, Rhode Island, and other jurisdictions have advanced proposals that would impose staffing requirements or operational restrictions on self-checkout technology in retail settings. Although the specific approaches vary, these initiatives reflect a broader effort to regulate the deployment of automation through labor-focused legislation, raising the prospect of a new wave of state and local oversight of self-checkout operations nationwide.
The trend continues with Rhode Island. On June 18, 2026, Rhode Island enacted a pair of bills, House Bill 7290 and Senate Bill 2342,...
Executive Summary What’s new: The Seventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of an outsider’s qui tam action under the False Claims Act, outlining a potential path to dismissal where a relator lacks ins...