Lawmakers Take on Stores That Open on Thanksgiving

While many people spend Thanksgiving with their families, some retail workers will be at work, getting ready for bargain hunters. Some Connecticut state lawmakers are trying to discourage companies from requiring people to work on the holiday and pay them extra for showing up.

State Rep. Matt Lesser, a Democrat from Middletown, said on Monday that he will reintroduce a bill, which would require retailers to pay employees time and a half on the holiday.

Lesser held a news conference on Monday, along with House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz, co-Chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee, Rep. Peter Teriyaki, and more legislator.

“This is a question of basic family values. Thanksgiving is the one family holiday all Americans share,” Lesser said in a statement. “It’s unacceptable that each year more Americans are forced to work on Thanksgiving, many without overtime or even a choice, and it punishes businesses who are trying to do the right thing. It’s disgraceful that malls are forcing retailers to stay open to extend the black Friday shopping into Thursday evening.”

Some states in the region, including Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts, do not allows large supermarkets, big box stores and department stores to open on Thanksgiving because of “blue laws,” according to The Associated Press.

Bill Rennie, vice president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, told the AP that many shoppers are crossing into border states that allow Thanksgiving shopping, including Connecticut, Vermont, New York or New Hampshire.

"As I said last year, Thanksgiving is a non-denominational holiday that Americans by and large choose to celebrate by spending time with their families,” State Rep. James Albis, a Democrat from East Haven, said in a statement. “Many of these workers make little more than minimum wage in their jobs and don't have a choice whether or not to take the Thanksgiving shift. If they do so, they should be justly compensated for it."