HB2051 • 2026

Consumer Protection

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 47, Chapter 18 and Title 50, relative to the use of self-service checkout.

Labor

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: Camper, Lamar
Last action: 2026-03-04
Official status: Taken off notice for cal in s/c Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee of Commerce Committee
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's exact impact on operational feasibility is not detailed in the provided text.

Tennessee Safe Stores and Staffed Stores Act

This bill sets rules for drug and food retail stores using self-service checkout machines in Tennessee.

What This Bill Does

Requires each store to have at least one staffed checkout station for every four self-service stations.
Limits the number of items a customer can buy through self-service checkout to fifteen or fewer.
Prohibits buying age-restricted products and those with theft-deterrent tags using self-service checkout.
Requiress stores to post signs about customers' rights and provide a link for more information.
Assigns at least one employee to monitor all self-service stations during business hours.

Who It Names or Affects

Drug retail establishments
Food retail establishments over 15,000 square feet or with specific sales floor requirements

Terms To Know

Self-service checkout station: A machine that allows customers to scan and pay for items without help from a store employee.
Staffed checkout station: A checkout area where an employee helps the customer with scanning, bagging, and payment.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not apply to independent contractors or managers.
Stores must follow these rules starting January 1, 2027.

Bill History

2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Taken off notice for cal in s/c Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee of Commerce Committee
2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee for 3/4/2026
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Commerce and Labor Committee
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to Commerce Committee
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-01-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Effective
January 1, 2027
, this bill requires a drug retail establishment or
food retail establishment that provides self-service checkout options
to adhere to all of the following requirements:



Provide to a customer at least one staffed checkout station for every four self-service checkout stations
.


Establish, implement, and advertise limits to self-service checkout to purchases of no more than
15
items
.


Establish workforce polic
ies
that prohibit a customer from using a self-service checkout station to purchase an item
(i) t
hat requires a customer to provide a form of identification, including an alcohol or tobacco product or
(ii) s
ubject to special theft-deterrent measures that are affixed to the item, including electronic article surveillance, ink, or other tags, or an item placed in a locked cabinet, that require the intervention of an employee to remove the item before purchase
.


Notify the public by prominently posting signage in a location accessible to customers, including a link or quick response (QR) code that can be scanned to access a website providing a summary of the public's rights under this
bill
, including enforcement options available to the public
.


Locate self-service checkout stations to enable observation and surveillance from both employees of drug retail establishments and food retail establishments and local law enforcement
.


Assign at least one employee to monitor the self-service checkout operation at all times that the self-service checkout is in operation during business hour
s.


Ensure that an assigned employee does not have other work responsibilities that would interfere with the employee's ability to maintain direct visual inspection and surveillance of the self-service checkout operations.

Effective
January 1, 2027
, this bill further requires drug
retail establishments or food retail establishments operating two or more self-service checkout stations
to (i) m
aintain a staffing ratio of at least one employee for every three self-service checkout stations and
(ii) i
mplement
such ratio
in a manner that takes into account operational and logistical feasibility.

The requirements above applicable to a food retail establishment only apply to
a retail store that
meets either of the following criteria:



Over 15,000 sq
uare
f
eet
in size and sells primarily household foodstuff for offsite consumption, including fresh produce, meats, poultry, fish, deli products, dairy products, canned foods, dry foods, beverages, baked foods, or prepared foods
.


Over 85,000 sq
uare feet
and with 10% or more of the establishment's sales floor area dedicated to the sale of foodstuff for offsite consumption, including the sale of fresh produce, meats, poultry, fish, deli products, dairy products, canned foods, dry foods, beverages, baked foods, or prepared foods
.

Further, as used in this bill, an "employee" does not
include independent contractors, workers hired through a third-party agency, managers, supervisors, or confidential employees
.

CIVIL ACTION
—

PENALTIES

This bill authorizes a
customer or employee of a drug retail establishment or food retail establishment
to
bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against a drug retail establishment or food retail establishment for violating
this bill.
If a customer or employee of a drug retail establishment or food retail establishment prevails in
such
an action
, then
the court may award
(i) a
civil penalty of not more than $100 per employee of the drug retail establishment or food retail establishment for each violation;
(ii) a
n additional civil penalty of $100 per employee for each day the violation remai
ns uncured, not to exceed $1,000 per employee per day; and
(iii) r
easonable court costs and attorneys' fees.

RETALIATION PROHIBITED

This bill prohibits a
drug retail establishment or food retail establishment
from
terminat
ing
, reduc
ing
in compensation, or otherwise discriminat
ing
against an employee in conditions of employment for seeking to enforce the employee's rights, participating in proceedings, or opposing a practice proscribed by this
bill
, or for otherwise asserting rights under this
bill.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SENATE BILL 2001
By Lamar

HOUSE BILL 2051
By Camper
HB2051
010934
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 47,
Chapter 18 and Title 50, relative to the use of self-
service checkout.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 47, Chapter 18, is amended by adding
the following as a new part:
47-18-5901. Short title.
This part is known and may be cited as "The Tennessee Safe Stores and Staffed
Stores Act."
47-18-5902. Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1) "Customer" means an individual who buys consumer goods from a
drug retail establishment or food retail establishment;
(2) "Drug retail establishment" means a retail store that sells a variety of
prescription and nonprescription medicines and miscellaneous items, including
drugs, pharmaceuticals, sundries, fresh produce, meats, poultry, fish, deli
products, dairy products, canned foods, dry foods, beverages, prepared foods,
and other merchandise;
(3) "Employee":
(A) Means an individual employed by and on the direct payroll of
a drug retail establishment or food retail establishment; and

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(B) Does not include independent contractors, workers hired
through a third-party agency, managers, supervisors, or confidential
employees;
(4) "Food retail establishment" means a retail store that is:
(A) Over fifteen thousand square feet (15,000 sq. ft.) in size and
sells primarily household foodstuff for offsite consumption, including fresh
produce, meats, poultry, fish, deli products, dairy products, canned foods,
dry foods, beverages, baked foods, or prepared foods; or
(B) Over eighty-five thousand square feet (85,000 sq. ft.) and with
ten percent (10%) or more of the establishment's sales floor area
dedicated to the sale of foodstuff for offsite consumption, including the
sale of fresh produce, meats, poultry, fish, deli products, dairy products,
canned foods, dry foods, beverages, baked foods, or prepared foods;
(5) "Self-service checkout" means the automated processes that enable
a customer to scan, bag, and pay for the customer's purchases without human
assistance, including fixed self-checkout, scan-and-go self-checkout, or mobile
self-checkout;
(6) "Self-service checkout station" means a station at a fixed location
within a drug retail establishment or food retail establishment at which a
customer can engage in a self-service checkout for the customer's purchases;
and
(7) "Staffed checkout station" means a station that is not a self-service
checkout and at which an employee provides human assistance to a customer
for scanning, bagging, or accepting payment for the customer's purchases.
47-18-5903. Requirements of establishments utilizing self-checkout options.

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(a) A drug retail establishment or food retail establishment that provides self-
service checkout options shall:
(1) Provide to a customer at least one (1) staffed checkout station for
every four (4) self-service checkout stations; a staffed checkout station must be
available during the times that a self-service checkout option is available to
customers;
(2) Establish, implement, and advertise limits to self-service checkout to
purchases of no more than fifteen (15) items;
(3) Establish workforce policies that prohibit a customer from using a
self-service checkout station to purchase an item:
(A) That requires a customer to provide a form of identification,
including an alcohol or tobacco product; or
(B) Subject to special theft-deterrent measures that are affixed to
the item, including electronic article surveillance, ink, or other tags, or an
item placed in a locked cabinet, that require the intervention of an
employee to remove the item before purchase;
(4) Notify the public by prominently posting signage in a location
accessible to customers, including a link or quick response (QR) code that can
be scanned to access a website providing a summary of the public's rights under
this part, including enforcement options available to the public;
(5) Locate self-service checkout stations to enable observation and
surveillance from both employees of drug retail establishments and food retail
establishments and local law enforcement;

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(6) Assign at least one (1) employee to monitor the self-service checkout
operation at all times that the self-service checkout is in operation during
business hours; and
(7) Ensure that an assigned employee does not have other work
responsibilities that would interfere with the employee's ability to maintain direct
visual inspection and surveillance of the self-service checkout operations.
(b) Drug retail establishments or food retail establishments operating two (2) or
more self-service checkout stations shall:
(1) Maintain a staffing ratio of at least one (1) employee for every three
(3) self-service checkout stations; and
(2) Implement the standard required by subdivision (b)(1) in a manner
that takes into account operational and logistical feasibility.
47-18-5904. Civil action — Penalties.
(a) A customer or employee of a drug retail establishment or food retail
establishment may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against a drug
retail establishment or food retail establishment for violating this part;
(b) If a customer or employee of a drug retail establishment or food retail
establishment prevails in an action brought under subsection (a), the court may award:
(1) A civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars ($100) per
employee of the drug retail establishment or food retail establishment for each
violation;
(2) An additional civil penalty of one hundred dollars ($100) per
employee for each day the violation remains uncured, not to exceed one
thousand dollars ($1,000) per employee per day; and
(3) Reasonable court costs and attorneys' fees.

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47-18-5905. Retaliation prohibited.
A drug retail establishment or food retail establishment shall not terminate,
reduce in compensation, or otherwise discriminate against an employee in conditions of
employment for seeking to enforce the employee's rights, participating in proceedings, or
opposing a practice proscribed by this part, or for otherwise asserting rights under this
part.
SECTION 2. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance
is held invalid, then the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act that
can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to that end, the provisions of
this act are severable.
SECTION 3. The headings in this act are for reference purposes only and do not
constitute a part of the law enacted by this act. However, the Tennessee Code Commission is
requested to include the headings in any compilation or publication containing this act.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect January 1, 2027, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to conduct occurring on or after that date.