Section 56D Automated electronic retail check out systems; examination; misrepresentation; penalty - Massachusetts Statutes

Section 56D. The director or his inspectors, and sealers and inspectors of weights and measures and their deputies, shall in every 24-month period, examine and test the operation of all automated retail checkout systems, in all establishments with three or more cash registers, and shall upon complaint to said officials examine and test the operation of any automated retail checkout system to determine whether the price which an item is offered or advertised for sale, including any advertised special price offered to a customer with a store-issued discount card, conforms to the unit and/or net prices displayed to the customer on the visual display and conforms to the price for which a purchaser is charged by such automated retail checkout system to determine whether the total price for items purchased is correctly represented, and may issue notices of violations of this section, pursuant to section 29A and this section; provided, however, that nothing herein shall prohibit the director or his inspectors and sealers and inspectors of weights and measures and their deputies from examining and testing any system at any time irrespective of the number of cash registers within the establishment. If such examination and test reveals that there is evidence of price misrepresentation, or misleading or deception of the purchaser of items, the owner, manager or the designee of said owner or manager of the retail establishment using such automatic checkout system shall be punished for the first offense by a fine of $100, for the second offense by a fine of $250, and for a subsequent offense, by a fine of $500. Notwithstanding the method for determining the amount of civil fines pursuant to said section 29A, a civil citation may be issued for $100 for each violation, up to a maximum of $2500 per inspection. For purposes of this section each item which scans erroneously shall constitute a separate civil violation.

The director shall promulgate and shall enforce regulations based on national industry standards and other criteria necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

For the purposes of this section, an automated retail check out system shall mean a cash register, computer, terminal, or other device capable of interpreting the universal product code, or any other code which is on an item offered for sale to consumers used to determine the price of the item being purchased, regardless of whether the code entry is accomplished manually, or automatically by a machine.