SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California Senate Committee on Business and Professions is considering drafting legislation governing slotting fees following an informational hearing here last week.
to the practice as it currently exists -- including representatives of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, the California Consumer Federation, several small manufacturers and an Albertsons employee -- advocated reforms in the way the fees are administered.
Nicole Daro of the UFCW Bay Area Coalition said her group hopes to identify abuses of slotting fees -- including exclusivity agreements and pay-to-stay fees -- and eliminate them through legislation.
"Small-business owners understand that true slotting fees help share the costs of getting new products on the shelves, but there are such huge fluctuations in the fees charged that they don't seem to be tied to the real costs involved," Daro told SN.
Peter Larkin, CGA president, told SN he doubts any action will result from the hearing. "This issue of slotting fees has been raised before in the legislative and regulatory arena at the state and federal levels, and there's never been any legislation or regulation to limit, ban or interfere with slotting fees. I suspect that will be the case this time as well."
