Retailers, others may require employers to work on Thanksgiving

Vic Albert, employment law attorney with Conner & Winters

Published: November 16, 2012 Comment on this article

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Q: There's been a lot of publicity lately about large retailers like Walmart, Target and Toys-R-Us requiring employees to work on Thanksgiving Day so they can move back the start time of sales, which had traditionally been offered on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Are employees entitled under Oklahoma or federal law to have Thanksgiving Day off work?

A: No. Both Oklahoma and federal law allow an employer to schedule employees to work on holidays like Thanksgiving Day.

Q: So an employer has complete freedom to change past policies and require employees to work on Thanksgiving Day this year?

A: Not necessarily. Employers are required to follow the terms of any policy, memorandum or agreement on holidays that it has provided to its employees. Most employers publish at the outset of a new year in employment policies or memorandums the holidays that they recognize for employees to be off work for that calendar year. Also, some employers have union agreements or other contractual agreements in which they have agreed to holidays off work for employees.

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