Democrats in California have passed a bill that would ban retailers from requiring their employees to confront shoplifters.

Lead sponsor Dave Cortese (D-Cupertino) said the "workplace violence" bill will protect retail employees from having to get in dangerous situations, but retailers in the state are furious, saying the bill goes "too far" and would further embolden thieves who have plagued stores statewide.

The "workplace violence" angle has weight to it: store employees in California have been killed while trying to intercept shoplifters who have swarmed the state's stores like locusts.

California shoplifting bill

A Home Depot employee in California was shot dead on the job in April while confronting a shoplifter.

And if recent events have taught America anything, it's that being a Good Samaritan doesn't pay -- at least not when your local prosecutor is a George Soros-appointed radical.

The recent firings of two Lululemon employees who confronted shoplifters exposed a new level of absurdity to the hostage situations that many innocent Americans now find themselves in, courtesy of the leftist agenda.

But critics of California's initiative like Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association, say the bill sends the wrong message to criminals.

“It says no employee can approach someone who is shoplifting. So even if someone is trained on how to deter someone from doing that, now they’re not allowed to approach someone. So, what does that mean? We are opening up the door to allow people to walk into stores, steal and walk out,” Michelin said.

Soft on crime

Cortese said the bill will prevent stores from deputizing employees to intervene in dangerous scenarios, saying, "people get hurt and oftentimes killed that way."

Hard to argue with that, but the bill is a band-aid for the actual problem: the failure of Democratic leaders to hold criminals accountable.

California has had a particularly bad shoplifting problem over the past few years in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, even to the point that numerous major chains have closed locations.

It has become common in troubled areas countrywide for stores to lock up common household goods, creating a hassle for law-abiding customers.

In New York, leaders are rolling out new kiosks to encourage shoplifters to seek social services, a preposterous "solution" that treats criminals like victims of society, not the other way around.

Such a shame what has become of this country.