Am I legally obligated to let a store employee check my reciept and
the contents of my shopping bag when I leave the store? I live in
California, and at stores such as Frys, Costco, Target, etc. a store
employee politely requires me to hand them my receipt while they check
it against the items I'm carrying out of the store. The excuse given
is that they are checking the accuracy of their check-out clerks. It
seems to me that once I've paid for my items, they are my property and
I'm not legally obligated to let someone else 'search' my bag, except
of course in the case of a police office with probably cause. Is this
true? And am I within my rights to refuse to let a store employee
check my bag as I leave the store?

thanks! - JR

Here's a discussion of this issue that you may find interesting:

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1078331/posts