Berlin Legislator Supports Legislation Paying Overtime to Employees Forced to Work on Thanksgiving

From Connecticut House Democrats.

State Rep. Matt Lesser (D-Middletown) announced Wednesday that he is re-introducing the legislation to require time and a half-overtime for retail workers forced to work on Thanksgiving. House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz, co-Chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee, Rep. Peter Tercyak, legislators from across the state, Lori Pelletier of the AFL-CIO, and other labor leaders came together to discuss this legislative initiative.

“This is a question of basic family values. Thanksgiving is the one family holiday all Americans share,” said Rep. Matthew Lesser (D-Middletown). “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.”

“Requiring employees to work on Thanksgiving, or risk losing their jobs is outrageous,” said Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz (D – Berlin/Southington). “If employees are not given the option to enjoy the holiday with their friends and families, they should be paid fairly.”

“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,” said Rep. James Albis (D-East Haven). “It is the holiday that causes the most travel in our nation every year so that folks can be with their families. To some in the retail world, this is viewed as an opportunity to increase already gargantuan profits at the expense of tearing their employees away from their own families as the Black Friday craze has poured over into Thanksgiving Day. 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.”

“Many employees fear retaliation when they say no to an employer about working on major holidays,” said Rep. Tercyak (D- New Britain). “We need to protect these employees as well as those who need to take on extra hours in order to afford the basics. We should ensure they are justly compensated for their time and have a choice of whether to work at all.”

“Historically, the trade-off for giving up time with your family was money,” said Lori Pelletier, AFl-CIO. “When we got rid of unionized retailers, the rights of workers to have extra pay on a holiday has gone away. But when you can’t join a union, the legislature has a responsibility to take care of workers who have no other options. These companies wouldn’t be open if it wasn’t worth their time, so they need to share those dollars with their workers.

“Thank you to Democratic leadership for introducing the bill,” said Thomas Swann, Executive Director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group “The Walmartization of this country drives down the quality of life for our families. I am proud to be fighting for the right for everyone to celebrate.”

The legislation was introduced in the Labor Committee in 2014, but was not passed into law.

Contributed photo: legislators discuss legislation requiring employees to work on Thanksgiving.