Holiday warning issued to retailers
Responding to complaints from retail workers upset about working on Thanksgiving, Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly's office has warned six Massachusetts retailers, including
Wal-Mart did not immediately respond to the warning, faxed yesterday to one of the retailer's local lawyers, a spokesman for Reilly said.
But five other retailers contacted by Reilly's office agreed to shut their doors on Thanksgiving, including a Family Dollar store in Somerville and a
''Everyone has a need to run out and make last-minute purchases, even the attorney general," said Reilly spokesman David Guarino.
''But he feels strongly that at least one day a year, workers should get a break."
Wal-Mart officials did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.
Following a legal opinion issued by Reilly last week that shuttered Whole Foods natural grocery stores for the holiday, Guarino said employees from several retailers complained to Reilly's office, citing breaches of the state's Colonial blue laws, which forbid retailers from opening on major holidays.
Under the blue laws, enacted by colonists in the 1600s, retailers larger than convenience stores and gas stations cannot open on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Pharmacies may stay open.
Guarino said the attorney general's office expects a response from Wal-Mart officials today.
