Lucas Jackson/Reuters Walmart is being criticized by shoppers for not paying workers extra to work over the holiday.
- Walmart shoppers are threatening to boycott the chain after The Guardian revealed this week that employees aren't paid extra to work on Thanksgiving.
- Instead, these employees are offered 10% and 15% discounts to shop in its store.
- While retailers are not technically required to pay employees overtime for working on Thanksgiving, many do. Examples include Target, Macy's, and JCPenney.
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This week's reports of Walmart employees receiving "measly" discounts in place of overtime pay for working over Thanksgiving have sparked an outcry online, and some shoppers are threatening to boycott the store.
The Guardian's Michael Sainato reported Wednesday that rather than pay its employees extra for working over the holidays, Walmart was offering them 10% and 15% discounts to shop in its store. The 15% discount was only available for employees to use over the course of two days.
A spokesperson for Walmart was not immediately available to comment when contacted by Business Insider but confirmed that this was its policy in a statement to The Guardian.
"We simplified our paid time-off policies in 2016 to combine vacation, holiday, sick and personal time into one bucket. We did this to give our associates greater flexibility and more choice to use their time off when and how they want to. As part of this change, we no longer pay holiday pay. Associates can now cash out any unused PTO at the end of the year," the spokesperson said, according to The Guardian.
While retailers are not technically required to pay employees overtime for working on holiday days, many do - Target, Macy's, and JCPenney are all examples of this.
And because of this, some shoppers are now threatening to boycott the store:
Walmart is set to open its doors on Thanksgiving at 6 p.m.
Please boycott @Walmart ! Instead of paying their employees properly for working on holidays they give them a cheap discount that they have to spend their money at the store to use! This has to be one of the really rotten places to work
- Nancy Armstrong (@DogLady33) November 28, 2019On the day where @Walmart employees SPECIFICALLY are known to get trampled, maimed, and killed by braindead human cattle. This is shameful, and so is anyone who shops there--ESPECIALLY on Black Friday.
- Cuddly Battleship Kattywampus (@Feanyx) November 28, 2019Shame on you @Walmart. Taking away Holiday pay from your associates, those driving your bottom line. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
- John Price (@JPrice02) November 28, 2019