Retail Theft Prevention – 3 WC Blog 548
Checkpoint Security System -5
Do Your Employees Have Time For Retail Theft Prevention Measures?
I just finished reading an article on lawsuits by employees suing over bag checks and it reminded me of similar questions of retail theft prevention when I was a Loss Prevention Manager. The article in LPM Insider, “Security Footage Sinks Employee Lawsuit Targeting Employee Bag Checks” by Garrett Seivold, Feb 7, 2018 discusses a lawsuit against Nike brought by some employees. The complaint was that employees felt they were required to wait too long after they clocked out for bag checks. Nike won in this case but there is no guarantee retailers will win in other lawsuits that have to do with unpaid wait time. In this instance the court seemed to rule that the length of wait times were trivial as Nike showed most were averaging 18.5 seconds. I remember employees complaining at the store where I was a Manager on Duty that waiting to leave after closing was unpaid work, regardless of the safety factor involved. They argued that they should be paid if they had to wait. The same argument follows for bag checks. The question for store owners is whether there is a way to balance retail theft prevention and the potential that an upset worker could file a lawsuit against your business? It also begs the question if an employee is off the clock and activates a Checkpoint Security System can they be stopped by a manager for a package inspection?
You may not know what a Checkpoint Security System is or how it could have an impact on employees being delayed leaving a store. When we talk about a Checkpoint Security System we are talking about all of the parts that make up a system from Checkpoint tags and detachment tools to Checkpoint pedestals. The tags send out radio frequency signals that are received by Checkpoint pedestals. If a shoplifter or employee tries to leave a store without paying for merchandise or if a tag isn’t removed a security alarm is activated. Employees resolve alarm issues through receipt checks or in some cases a bag/purse check. Tags can be detected even when the merchandise they are attached to is hidden or concealed under clothing or in backpacks, totes, purses etc. The detachment tool is used to remove a tag at the register during a purchase so there should be very few causes for alarms aside from theft attempts.
This brings us back to the question of whether a store can stop an employee and conduct a bag/purse check with or without an alarm. Employers can require an employee in the hiring process to agree to bag and package checks. As part of the hiring process a waiver form should be included that agrees to a package verification and a clause stating that failure to do so could lead to termination of employment. Employers, be sure you explain this and all forms before asking someone to sign them. New hires have to understand what they are agreeing to and not feel coerced. Checks also have to be conducted in one of two ways they are either totally random and everyone on any given day or shift is subject to an inspection OR receipt checks happen every day for every one managers included. Making exceptions hurts your credibility and may put you at risk for some type of discrimination lawsuit.
The second part to the package check equation is that of time. The lawsuit in the Nike case complained that employees were not being paid for their time. The key seems to be that the inspections should not take too long but stores do have a right to some retail theft protection in doing so. If there is an alarm from the Checkpoint Security System when an employee exits there is a reasonable cause for the employee to be stopped. These inspections may end up taking a little more time than the end of the shift, “open the bag and allow a manager to glance in or compare a purchase to a receipt” check. It is important that stores are being careful in taking steps to reduce false alarms due to failures to remove or deactivate tags. If false alarms are a problem and store managers are not able to show they are trying to address those issues it would be more difficult to detain anyone for alarm activations. If stores are not experiencing false Checkpoint Security System alarms then there should be no issue with package checks in these instances.
Respect for employee’s time should be something every manager considers. Employees should recognize that retail theft prevention is a real concern for retailers and can impact them too. Mutual respect and cooperation of store managers and employees ensures a profitable business for everyone.
Get more information on retail theft prevention, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
I just finished reading an article on lawsuits by employees suing over bag checks and it reminded me of similar questions of retail theft prevention when I was a Loss Prevention Manager. The article in LPM Insider, “Security Footage Sinks Employee Lawsuit Targeting Employee Bag Checks” by Garrett Seivold, Feb 7, 2018 discusses a lawsuit against Nike brought by some employees. The complaint was that employees felt they were required to wait too long after they clocked out for bag checks. Nike won in this case but there is no guarantee retailers will win in other lawsuits that have to do with unpaid wait time. In this instance the court seemed to rule that the length of wait times were trivial as Nike showed most were averaging 18.5 seconds. I remember employees complaining at the store where I was a Manager on Duty that waiting to leave after closing was unpaid work, regardless of the safety factor involved. They argued that they should be paid if they had to wait. The same argument follows for bag checks. The question for store owners is whether there is a way to balance retail theft prevention and the potential that an upset worker could file a lawsuit against your business? It also begs the question if an employee is off the clock and activates an electronic article surveillance (EAS) security system can they be stopped by a manager for a package inspection?
You may not know what an EAS Security System is or how it could have an impact on employees being delayed leaving a store. When we talk about an EAS Security System we are talking about all of the parts that make up a system from hard tags/labels and detachment tools to EAS pedestals. The tags send out radio frequency signals that are received by EAS pedestals. If a shoplifter or employee tries to leave a store without paying for merchandise or if a tag isn’t removed a security alarm is activated. Employees resolve alarm issues through receipt checks or in some cases a bag/purse check. Tags can be detected even when the merchandise they are attached to is hidden or concealed under clothing or in backpacks, totes, purses etc. The detachment tool is used to remove a tag at the register during a purchase so there should be very few causes for alarms aside from theft attempts.
This brings us back to the question of whether a store can stop an employee and conduct a bag/purse check with or without an alarm. Employers can require an employee in the hiring process to agree to bag and package checks. As part of the hiring process a waiver form should be included that agrees to a package verification and a clause stating that failure to do so could lead to termination of employment. Employers, be sure you explain this and all forms before asking someone to sign them. New hires have to understand what they are agreeing to and not feel coerced. Checks also have to be conducted in one of two ways they are either totally random and everyone on any given day or shift is subject to an inspection OR receipt checks happen every day for every one managers included. Making exceptions hurts your credibility and may put you at risk for some type of discrimination lawsuit.
The second part to the package check equation is that of time. The lawsuit in the Nike case complained that employees were not being paid for their time. The key seems to be that the inspections should not take too long but stores do have a right to some retail theft protection in doing so. If there is an alarm from the EAS Security System when an employee exits there is a reasonable cause for the employee to be stopped. These inspections may end up taking a little more time than the end of the shift, “open the bag and allow a manager to glance in or compare a purchase to a receipt” check. It is important that stores are being careful in taking steps to reduce false alarms due to failures to remove or deactivate tags. If false alarms are a problem and store managers are not able to show they are trying to address those issues it would be more difficult to detain anyone for alarm activations. If stores are not experiencing false EAS security system alarms then there should be no issue with package checks in these instances.
Respect for employee’s time should be something every manager considers. Employees should recognize that retail theft prevention is a real concern for retailers and can impact them too. Mutual respect and cooperation of store managers and employees ensures a profitable business for everyone.
Get more information on retail theft prevention, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547 today.
