Big Lots workers urged to track hours as wage claims rise

Shift changes at Big Lots can leave workers short by minutes or hours. The U.S. Department of Labor requires covered employers to pay nonexempt workers overtime at one and one-half times their regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek, and it defines that workweek as a fixed, regularly recurring 168-hour period that does not have to match the calendar week.

At Big Lots, the job often extends beyond the clock-in and clock-out printed on the schedule. Pre-open stocking, post-close cleanup, last-minute customer questions and meal breaks taken late or not at all can all change the time a worker actually spends on the floor. Keep your own notes, and its Timesheet app tracks regular hours, break time, overtime, comments and multiple pay frequencies.

Workers can file complaints about minimum wage, overtime pay and recordkeeping violations, and the process is free. Employees who believe they were shorted can submit pay stubs, personal records of hours worked and other details about pay practices to the Wage and Hour Division, which can be reached at 1-866-4-USWAGE. The department focuses enforcement on low-wage industries because of high violation rates, vulnerable workers and rapid industry change.

The company filed voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 9, 2024, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, and in October 2024, court filings added 56 additional stores to a closing list. In December 2024, 555 corporate headquarters employees were laid off. Earlier, Big Lots agreed to a $7 million settlement in a California wage-and-hour case involving about 31,500 current and former employees.

The chain emerged from bankruptcy in 2025 with Variety Wholesalers as its buyer, and the reorganized Big Lots will operate 219 stores in 15 states. Workers should write down the time they start, the time they stop, meal periods, call-backs, shift swaps and any work done off the clock before a payroll mistake gets repeated.