Continuing a recent trend, more retail workers will have to show up for work on Thanksgiving Day this year. Some of these workers will even have to start their day before 6 a.m. in order to be ready for the ever eager holiday shoppers hitting the stores for Black Friday deals. Kmart is leading the way by opening at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving.
Their stores will be open continuously until midnight on Friday, November 28. This allows shoppers a full 24 hours of Black Friday shopping. Sears stores, owned by the same company as Kmart, will open on Thanksgiving at 6 p.m. However, Kmart and Sears stores in Maine, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts won’t be open on the holiday due to stricter state regulations. Kohl’s and Macy’s will also be opening at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, and Walmart will be open all day on Thanksgiving.
Workers scheduled for these holiday hours will generally be seasonal workers and volunteers who ask for these shifts. They may be compensated with higher wages for working on a holiday. However, some of this “volunteering” may be somewhat forced, as individual employees may have requests for a holiday vacation denied by supervisors. Bucking the trend are several high profile stores – like Costco and Nordstrom – that will remain closed on the holiday so employees can celebrate with family and friends.
These stores may even be rewarded by customers who are turned off by the other stores that choose to open on a holiday.