Senate Bill No. 553, which would place restrictions on employee confrontation with shoplifters or active robbers, has received wide criticism from small business owners across Los Angeles.
On Sept. 1, the California State Assembly amended SB 553, which prohibits non-security workers from being forced to confront robbers in an effort to prevent workplace shootings or assaults. If passed, the new bill is set to go into effect on July 1, 2024.
“With growing awareness of workplace violence, California needs smarter guidelines to keep workers safe in the office or on the job site,” Senator Dave Cortese said in a statement.
“Under my SB 553, employers would be prohibited from forcing their rank and file, non-security workers to confront active shoplifters, and all retail employees would be trained on how to react to active shoplifting,” Cortese said.
But the bill has been facing concerns from business owners about the limitation of the stores’ security system against robbers.
This comes after a flash-mob burglary that occurred at the Nordstrom store in the Westfield Topanga Shopping Center in August, where a group of about 30 masked robbers flooded the store, overwhelmed staff, and stole $300,000 worth of merchandise.
Robberies have increased statewide by almost 10% in 2022, a report from the California Department of Justice shows.
According to a report from the Los Angeles Police Department, acts of shoplifting and assaults in Los Angeles have been soaring since 2022.
And yet, large retail chains and malls are not the ones that will suffer the most. Small retail stores have seen a spike in reported shoplifting and assaults, according to the LAPD report.
Parminder Singh, owner of Lee’s Market & Liquor store, said the bill is especially damaging to local stores.
“[The Senate Bill] goes totally against small businesses. I have kids, a family, and mortgages. We work all of our life to build this small business, and we can’t protect ourselves,” Singh said.
“We need help with the shoplifting,” said Raul Arellano, manager at the ARCO gas station on Hoover St.
Arellano said that most of the shoplifters are homeless, and that they pose a physical threat.
“I’ve encountered people who want to hit me, they pull a screwdriver or a knife, but I never get close up,” he said.
“Most of the time, they physically want to attack you. That’s why I try to stay away because I don’t want to get hurt and I don’t want to hurt them either,” Arellano said.
“I’m gonna come and I’m gonna kill you, I’m gonna kill your mom, I’m gonna kill your dad,” are just a few of the threats Arellano has received from homeless shoplifters.
Ruben Gomez, a customer at the gas station, said that he is starting to get scared, especially at night.
“There has to be security,” Gomez said. “When you call the police, they don’t come right away, they come after something’s happened. It’s dangerous. If somebody goes in there and pulls out a gun, I can’t do anything. If I try to do something, they’re gonna shoot me.”
The amendment of the new bill has received a huge backlash from small business owners across the state, who gathered in Sacramento mid-August to rally against lawmakers.
“People are totally against it and people are getting together,” Singh said.
Singh recently went with a group of store owners to the Pasadena Assembly member Chris Holden’s office to protest, but they received no response.
“Then, I went myself to Sacramento for the protest. We were there and nobody came out.”
“Everybody has to get together,” Singh said. “We are going to keep protesting, and we are going to keep putting pressure on lawmakers.”