Target, employee at odds over Black Friday

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. retail giant Target said an employee who protested an early Black Friday work schedule had been granted days off on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

"We honored that request," Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said, referring to Anthony Hardwick, an employee whose online petition at Change.org calling for the store to honor all 24 hours of the Thanksgiving holiday collected more than 100,000 signatures, ABC News reported.

To begin work at just after midnight, at the start of Black Friday, Hardwick complained that he would have to be at the store before midnight, which would cut into his holiday.

""A full holiday with family is not just for the elite of this nation -- all Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones and get a good night's rest on Thanksgiving!" his petition said.

"Join me in calling for Target retail stores to push back their original opening time of 5am on Black Friday," he wrote.

However, Snyder said Hardwick asked for Thanksgiving and Black Friday off in early November, having told his managers he was scheduled to work at a different job on the day after Thanksgiving.

Hardwick said that's "bologna."

"No one in retail requests Black Friday off and gets it. It's a blacked out date," he said.

If Target asked him to work on Black Friday, Hardwick said he would. He said he would "not let my team members down."