Dan Brecher
Counsel
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Every year, it seems that Black Friday deals start earlier and earlier. While some welcome the opportunity to get a jump on their holiday shopping, critics contend that it robs workers of time with their families on the Thanksgiving holiday. In New Jersey, lawmakers could consider a bill that would restrict Black Friday from further creeping into Thursday, now calling it Black Thursday. State Sen. Richard Codey recently announced that he plans to propose legislation that would ban stores from opening before 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. According to Sen. Codey, the measure is intended to protect low-income workers who are often forced to work the holiday shift.
“The increased pressure among these stores to open earlier and stay open later cuts into their holiday or eliminates it altogether for the store workers,” he said. “They are put in position to either work on Thanksgiving or risk losing their jobs. This would allow them to be with their families and to give thanks, as other families do.”
Several states, including Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island, have laws that prohibit big box retailers from opening earlier than midnight on Thanksgiving. In New Jersey, Bergen County has a long-standing municipal ordinance that restricts store hours on Sundays. So-called “blue laws” were once prevalent across the country. Dating back centuries, they can be traced back to the colonial usage of the word “blue” meaning “rigidly moral.”
The legislation may be looked at by New Jersey businesses as a step backwards that could dramatically hurt holiday sales, which depend greatly on Black Friday shoppers. If the stores are forced to close, they argue, shoppers will likely travel out-of-state or make online purchases. “In recent years there has been a demand to open on Thanksgiving,” said John Holub, president of the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association. “The demand is there.“
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