AutoZone and Labor Laws: My 13-Hour Shift with No Break

Today, I worked over 13 hours straight without a single break—and unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time. Thanks, AutoZone.

Let me walk you through my day.

I got up at 6:00 AM and drove 45 minutes to work. By 7:15 AM, I opened the store, set up the money drawers, and started my Manager’s Next Day Review. But almost immediately, I discovered that no one had run End of Day the night before. That meant my store couldn’t accept any payments—cash, credit, or otherwise—for the next 15–20 minutes.

Once I fixed that mess, I had to run the entire store alone because my drivers were out delivering parts to commercial customers who were screaming at me about their parts.

And if that wasn’t enough, the store was a disaster. Parts scattered everywhere, a complete mess left for me to clean before I could even functionally run the business.

To make matters worse, my closing red shirt didn’t show up. They had asked to start later, at 5:00 PM instead of 3:00 PM, but still didn’t show up at all. And the closing manager? Too “busy” to come in.

By the time we finally found coverage, it was 8:15 PM. That means from open to close, I was the only one in the store for hours. I was left to open, operate, and close a store completely by myself for hours.

I’m a 5’1” woman, left alone in a store that’s open to the public. It’s not just unfair labor practice—it’s unsafe and unacceptable. At any moment, someone could walk in and make a choice that could alter my life forever.

This isn’t just a bad day at work—it’s a serious violation of labor laws in New Jersey. But AutoZone continues to push employees past their limits, leaving them overworked, unprotected, and unheard. And to be clear: this isn’t just a bad management day. It’s a violation of New Jersey labor laws. Workers are legally entitled to breaks, to safe staffing, and to fair working conditions. AutoZone is failing to provide all three.

Corporate policies may look good on paper, but on the ground? They’re failing the people who keep the stores running. And no one should have to choose between keeping their job and protecting their health—or their safety.

AutoZone owes better to its workers—and until they take responsibility, they are actively breaking the very labor laws meant to protect us.