IT’S TIME TO REPEAL THE DISCRIMINATORY SUNDAY PREMIUM PAY LAW

JAN. 6, 2016 • BY BILL RENNIE

On December 22, 1982, Governor Ed King signed a bill into law to allow retail stores to open on Sunday. The law required that most retail employees also be paid time and a half wages for voluntary work on Sunday. The minimum wage in 1982 was $3.35. Music fans were shopping in record stores for Michael Jackson’s newly released album, Thriller, on cassette tape.

Times have changed. The economy has changed. There are almost no record stores left and cassette tapes are obsolete. Yet, the Sunday premium pay law lives on. With the Massachusetts minimum wage set to increase to $10.00 on January 1, the minimum wage on Sunday for a 16 year old cashier will be $15.00 an hour, while across the border in New Hampshire the minimum remains at $7.25. By 2017 it will increase to $16.50. Sundays in retail have become unaffordable in Massachusetts.

Retail is the only industry in the Commonwealth required by law to pay a Sunday premium. No other sector – hospitality, government, health care, entertainment – is required to do so, and only one other state, Rhode Island, shares this requirement.

Local retailers already operate at a significant 6.25% price disadvantage to out-of-state, online businesses – like E-bay – that dodge collection of the state sales tax. And in a high cost state like Massachusetts, all employers are at a disadvantage when comparing property taxes, rent, health insurance, energy and labor costs. These cost burdens present significant challenges to remaining in business – now add in the Sunday Premium pay outlier.

Our local retailers support our civic organizations, sponsor our youth sports teams, and are important members of our community who keep our Main Streets alive. If we want that to continue we need to look closely at those public policies placing them at a disadvantage versus their online competitors who use robots to staff faceless warehouses.

The consumer driven economy runs seven days a week now, and those who choose to work in retail know that better than most. It’s time to repeal this antiquated vestige of the Blue Laws and keep our retail sector vibrant.

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