Can Walmart make my son work Christmas Eve?

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Surely, a Skeleton crew could handle the Jehovah Witness crowd. It wouldn't have to be all hand on deck, busy, busy busy (mandatory shift or et fired!) because all the non- Christmas folks need a vaccuum cleaner at Walmart or a cup of coffee at IHOP. In fact the ratio of restaurant/retail employeees who don't "do Christmas" could probably handle the "don't do Christmas" crowd of customers.

Sorry, the crowds tou see Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Thanksgiving are folks fully participating in said holiday, who also see nothing wrong going out those days *as long as their loved ones don't have to work!*

I have Muslim friends and they purposely go out on Christmas because the places they wish to go are less crowded. They see no reason not to and it's not their religious holiday. So it's not just the Jehovah's that are out there. There are many other religions and non-religious people that go out.

 

[Lionqueen2]

I'm wondering this, too. How long is church? Isn't the son going to be at work? Does a parent have to accompany him at work?

What time is Walmart closing that one parent has to miss all of church? Is Walmart closing at midnight and he will miss midnight mass? Can't the son call ahead of time and arrange for a taxi to bring him either to church if everyone else is already there, or take him home, if that's closer. Maybe a fellow co-worker drop him off after they both get off work?

Maybe the one parent who misses church with the son can go together on Christmas day. It will be a new bonding experience.

Churches have masses on Christmas morning so the son and one parent could go then or the whole family could go together then instead of at night. Sometimes we just have to make changes in our lives.
I also think that when someone works in retail you must expect that you will be working during the busiest shopping season of the year. I'd also concern myself with the type of future reference this young man might get from a manager that found himself short of help during the holidays. Even if the job is only a seasonable one, your reputation follows you.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

Surely, a Skeleton crew could handle the Jehovah Witness crowd. It wouldn't have to be all hand on deck, busy, busy busy (mandatory shift or et fired!) because all the non- Christmas folks need a vaccuum cleaner at Walmart or a cup of coffee at IHOP. In fact the ratio of restaurant/retail employeees who don't "do Christmas" could probably handle the "don't do Christmas" crowd of customers.

Sorry, the crowds tou see Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Thanksgiving are folks fully participating in said holiday, who also see nothing wrong going out those days *as long as their loved ones don't have to work!*

Why not be angry at the company itself? Aren't they the greedy ones looking to make all that money on a Holiday, when they could just as easily stay closed that day?

I see tons of people in our Mall Food Court on Sundays, but I don't see Chick-Fil-A hurting because they are closed that day. KWIM?

 

[golfgal]

Remeber though descovy, Christmas season is a religious holiday for Christians. We have many in this country who are not and do not celebrate the holidays.
My SIl is Jehovah witness and they go out on Christmas day because for them it's just like any other day.

The US is still 95% Christian.

 

[ajk912]

I do feel really bad that he may have to miss Christmas Eve services, the way my cookie crumbles we will be missing them this year, too. Our church offers 4 services though- a 5, 7, 9, and 11. I would bet he could cut a compromise- maybe ask his employer if he could be an hour late because he's going to the early service? Especially since Walmart (like other retailers) are likely going to be laying off quite a few people in mid January, it would make your son look good if we was willing to work with the company and be there. Since he's a minor, he's probably not working longer than a 5-6 hour shift I assume?

 

[Toad_Passenger]

The US is still 95% Christian.

Actually the ARIS 2008 survey put it closer to 76%.

 

[AKL_Megs]

Yes, Walmart can "make" your son work on December 24th. Walmart can "make" your son work on Christmas Day, too. Be thankful that he doesn't have to. Some people would GLADLY trade their Christmas Day for your sons December 24th. And, I am sure God will forgive him for missing church, but it doesn't sound like you are willing to...

 

[NHdisneylover]

Surely, a Skeleton crew could handle the Jehovah Witness crowd. It wouldn't have to be all hand on deck, busy, busy busy (mandatory shift or et fired!) because all the non- Christmas folks need a vaccuum cleaner at Walmart or a cup of coffee at IHOP. In fact the ratio of restaurant/retail employeees who don't "do Christmas" could probably handle the "don't do Christmas" crowd of customers.

Sorry, the crowds tou see Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Thanksgiving are folks fully participating in said holiday, who also see nothing wrong going out those days *as long as their loved ones don't have to work!*

And the Jewish crowd, the agnostic crowd, the Muslim crowd, the Atheist crowd. . .
We celebrate Christmas--but only as a secular holiday. I tip well when we go out to eat on Christmas Eve (which we always do if we are not travelling to family) but I do not feel overly sorry for those working. most are getting great tips that day and they do have jobs. My dad had to work Christmas every year when I was little (he could have chosen to have it off starting the year I was 14--by then it was not so important to us so he took Thanksgiving off instead so someone else with a younger child could have Christmas). In my highschool and college days i worked many Christmas Eves in retail. So, I know what it is to work the holiday and have family work the holiday and I still think it is okay for stores, etc to be open. Not everyone is in the picture you paint of only wanting the enjoyment of things being open without the hassle of having to do the work to make it happen.

 

[java]

The US is still 95% Christian.

Actually not so as of 2007 - there were over 16% unaffiliated- either Agnostic, or Atheist and another 5 percent got lumped into "other"(Jewish, Muslim, Buddist)

 

[bicker]

I'm not sure how you could say whether Chick-Fil-A is or is not hurting because they're closed on Sunday. They don't make enough information available to definitely say one way or another - it isn't even clear that there exists enough information to make that determination, even internally. What we can say is that they lose business because they're closed on Sundays, and that they gain business because they're closed on Sundays, and that they don't care if the former overwhelms the latter: They claim to derive "personal profit" from the practice, so that can readily serve them in lieu of financial profit, if necessary. By the same token, we can say that other people would not derive that "personal profit" from the practice, and therefore if those folks owned the chain it would be more likely that they would be "hurting" from the practice. It is an unremarkable example of situational merit - what's good for one person is not noecessarily good for another. And that brings us back to the topic: Each person needs to determine how much everything is worth to and for themselves. Those determinations may prompt some people to view something as good while other people would view the same thing as bad. And that's okay. What would not be okay is evaluating the second group of people by the same criteria that the first group would be evaluated by.

Evaluations, in this context must be in accordance with the values that the folks being evaluated subscribe to.

 

[NHdisneylover]

The US is still 95% Christian.

Where did you get that number? Most things I read put it at about 3/4 I don't think a quarter of the population should have to come to a standstill for something they do not believe in.

Of those 3/4, probably (based on just my experience) 1/4 are not really practicing--rather just people who name Christianity in some forms as their religion and perhaps show up to church a few times a year on major holidays but do not really actively practice.

 

[Holly]

Yes, Walmart can "make" your son work on December 24th. Walmart can "make" your son work on Christmas Day, too. Be thankful that he doesn't have to. Some people would GLADLY trade their Christmas Day for your sons December 24th. And, I am sure God will forgive him for missing church, but it doesn't sound like you are willing to...

Several of my clients work for WalMart and were venting about how WalMart employees aren't allowed to take any days off at all this time of year (not even sick days) or they risk being fired.

 

[PatsGirl]

I worked in restaurants for many years and now in healthcare and have had to work nearly all the holidays, Christmas included I'm lucky though that I don't have to go in until 9:30 am so we have our Xmas morning and then I'm off to work...

When our kids were little, my co-workers that had to be in at 7 am either had Xmas the day before (if their kids didn't know any better) or got them up at 5 am to open gifts. We work our Thanksgiving around our work schedules and NY, well you work with the hangover

I feel bad this year for my bff whose daughter I got a job in the kitchen where I work. The manager put the girl on 6-2 Xmas She still hasn't told her family and I know I'll be getting the call, both as a venting board and as shop steward. There is nothing I can do. The girl should have made clear the hours she would PREFER to work and the manager most likely would have tried to work around that. FWIW, I still think that parents with small children at home should get first priority if at all possible. In this particular family, the youngest child is 13 so they could really have Xmas on Xmas Eve or later in the day but either way change is never easy.

I worked Turkey Day, I'll work Xmas Day, and I'll work both NYE and NY Day, because I can work around family gatherings and my kids' schedules with their Dad and because I know there is someone else out there that needs to travel to see family or would miss all the festivities.

To OP: Your child needs to go to work, its called work ethic. The family can choose to go to a different mass in order to be together or they can go without him. I would much rather see a young teen miss mass than have a Mom or Dad miss the evening with their small children and besides, its just the right thing to do. With age comes responsibility ~

 

[cepmom]

yes, they can make you work...again, it';s the nature of retail during the holidays. When I worked retail, if Christmas Eve was a day I normally was available to work, I took a vacation day. Then the rules changed and they granted no time off during the period between Thanksgiving and New Years. That's just the way it is. Thankfully, I no longer work retail and God willing, I never will again!

 

[ckay87]

I think as soon as my son took a job at Walmart, I would have written him off as a Christmas attendee. Mine just got hired as a ski lift operator and I just told him, "well we're going to miss you this Christmas, stop by if you get a chance." I figure it will prompt him to think a little about future career decisions. Nothing wrong with working these types of jobs, but missing holidays (and weekends, etc.) is a part of it. If they don't like it, they can get cracking on that education so they have more freedom in future job choices. Crappy jobs are good for kids!

 

[eliza61]

The US is still 95% Christian.

Yep and 5% of 300 million people is still a very nice size population to service. A smart business makes opportunities where they come. and don't forget out of that 95% you may have another 10-15% who while they classify themselves as Christian will also tell you that they do not really practice.

 

[Imzadi]

Many posters have asked, "Why can't DS try to switch shifts with someone else?" People are forgetting that probably DS has to work the Christmas eve evening shift is because they purposely give the lowest people on the totem pole and the seasonal employees the worst shifts.

Many other people want that nite off too. Christmas eve is special to many people. If Walmart gives seniority to workers, and many people requested Christmas eve off, those people would have been given priority. Even if DS had earlier tried to request that nite off, he probably wouldn't have gotten it.

 

[marcyinPA]

I worked retail when I was a teen. EVERYONE worked Christmas Eve. But, we closed at 5 pm back then ("back in the day" ).

In my opinion, he should have anticipated that he would have to work, and should have talked to his supervisor weeks ago, before the schedule was made, about working earlier in the day so he could go to church with his family. I am sure, had he requested it, that they would have tried to make it work for him.

At this point, I'd say that it is too late, unless he can find someone to switch with him.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I think as soon as my son took a job at Walmart, I would have written him off as a Christmas attendee. Mine just got hired as a ski lift operator and I just told him, "well we're going to miss you this Christmas, stop by if you get a chance." I figure it will prompt him to think a little about future career decisions. Nothing wrong with working these types of jobs, but missing holidays (and weekends, etc.) is a part of it. If they don't like it, they can get cracking on that education so they have more freedom in future job choices. Crappy jobs are good for kids!

Honestly, I think many teens or young adults are somewhat happy to have the excuse to skip out on the family Christmas (or part of it) anyway. It is just part of being that age where sometimes you want to see yourself as separate from the family (but the nicer kids do not want to TELL mom and dad that so it is much easier to have to work and blame the boss)

 

[marcyinPA]

Many other people want that nite off too. Christmas eve is special to many people. If Walmart gives seniority to workers, and many people requested Christmas eve off, those people would have been given priority. Even if DS had earlier tried to request that nite off, he probably wouldn't have gotten it.

May be true, but if he had requested before the schedule was made, and had used the word "CHURCH", I'm sure they would have tried to work something out. I don't think businesses really like messing with employees religious obligations, mostly for legal purposes.