Illegal to stop retail theft in California? No, bill never proposed this | Fact check
The claim: California bill would make it illegal to confront thieves
A Sept. 5 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) claims a proposed bill in California would make it a crime for witnesses to try to prevent retail theft.
“California Democrats have proposed Bill 553, which makes it ILLEGAL to confront or fight back against looters, burglars and shoplifters,” reads the post. “You’ll be fined nearly $20K if you attempt to stop these crimes. It puts every business at the mercy of criminals. This is totally INSANE!”
It received more than 8,000 likes in six days.
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Our rating: False
Legal experts and a spokesperson for the state senator who sponsored the bill said the claim is false. SB 553 centers on workplace safety and requires certain employers to develop a workplace violence prevention plan. A previous version of the bill said employers could not force non-security employees to confront intruders, but the provision has since been removed.
Bill has been 'target of misinformation campaign'
The social media claim is “blatantly false,” said Chesa Boudin, executive director of the Criminal Law and Justice Center at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.
Rather, the text of the bill says it would require employers to develop and implement a workplace violence prevention plan. They would have to maintain a violent incident log and provide "effective training" to employees on the plan. The bill passed the Assembly on Sept. 11 and was sent to the Senate, which approved an earlier version of the bill in May.
“There’s nothing in the bill that restricts the ability of individuals to intervene when somebody’s shoplifting,” said David Sklansky, professor at Stanford Law School. “There’s nothing that requires employers to allow shoplifting to take place.”
Among other provisions, the bill would also allow a collective bargaining representative to request a temporary restraining order against a person accused of violent incidents on behalf of an affected employee or group of employees. Current law permits only the employer to make the request, Boudin said.
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An earlier version of the bill, which is sponsored by California Sen. Dave Cortese, would have made it illegal for employers to force non-security workers to confront intruders who are potentially armed and dangerous.
The bill then became the “target of a misinformation campaign,” said Allen Young, Cortese's spokesperson.
“To eliminate any confusion regarding the bill's purpose, we removed all references to shoplifting,” Young said. Cortese announced changes to the language of the bill in an Aug. 28 news release.
There is now no mention of shoplifting, burglary or looting in the bill. An analysis of the bill published by The National Law Review likewise makes no mention of it making it illegal to confront thieves.
Boudin said social media posts like the one on Facebook contribute to “one of the biggest and fastest-growing problems in implementing good public policy.”
Boudin said the viral misinformation tapped into a topic “in the zeitgeist right now” in light of widely-reported organized retail theft, particularly in California.
“Disinformation sadly often spreads faster than real information,” Boudin said. “It makes it difficult for people working in good faith to address issues of public concern to do their jobs.”
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources:
Allen Young, Sept. 7, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Chesa Boudin, Sept. 7, Phone call with USA TODAY
David Sklansky, Sept. 7, Phone call with USA TODAY
California Legislative Information, accessed Sept. 8, SB-553 Occupational safety: workplace violence: restraining orders and workplace violence prevention plan
The National Law Review, June 16, California Senate Bill 533 Mandates That Employers Create Workplace Violence Prevention Programs
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim California bill would outlaw stopping shoplifters | Fact check
