FTC warns on misleading pay claims for Big Lots workers

The FTC is sharpening its focus on the kinds of pay promises retail workers hear every day: hours, bonuses, fast advancement and the chance to make more than the job really pays. In a June 16 blog post, the agency said its Labor Task Force is aimed at deceptive, unfair and anticompetitive labor practices that hurt workers, and it used recent earnings-claim cases to show how quickly bold recruitment pitches can fall apart.

The clearest warning came from the FTC’s case involving LifeWave participants Steven Merritt and Gina Merritt. The agency said the couple used inflated income claims to pull in recruits, while LifeWave’s 2024 income disclosure showed that 79% of active participants earned nothing in commission payments that year and only 0.035% earned more than $25,000 a week. The FTC said that gap between pitch and payout is exactly the kind of mismatch workers should watch for when a recruiter talks up easy money or guaranteed earnings.

The same message runs through the agency’s other cases. In its action against Forever Living Products International LLC and Forever Living.com LLC, the FTC said at least 77% of FBOs who purchased, sold or recruited in each of the last five years did not receive compensation, and more than 89% of new participants had not recovered their initial $300-plus startup cost after two years. In the International Markets Live matter, the FTC said the company generated more than $1.2 billion since 2018 and that the agency and Nevada secured a nearly $800 million judgment, with about $90 million in assets and $13 million from a prior settlement set aside for refunds.

For Big Lots workers, the relevance goes beyond multilevel marketing. Retail hiring often moves fast, especially during reopenings, seasonal pushes and store resets, when applicants may be told there is extra overtime, quick promotion or bonus money just ahead. Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024, then 219 stores were bought out of bankruptcy by Variety Wholesalers. The company said the first nine reopened on April 10, 2025, with more openings in waves through early June and a fall grand opening celebration.

Variety Wholesalers described the revived stores as remodeled locations carrying closeout deals and new categories such as apparel and electronics. Big Lots now says it operates as part of Variety Wholesalers alongside Roses Discount Stores, Roses Express and Maxway. The FTC’s latest labor push puts a simple standard on that kind of turnaround hiring: if pay, hours or advancement are being sold as part of the job, they need to be real, specific and consistent with what ends up on the paycheck.