As vaccinations continue in the United States, some companies offer financial incentives to encourage workers to receive fire.
Instacart Inc., the food delivery service, announced on Thursday that it will offer a $ 25 scholarship for workers receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. He joins others, including Trader Joe’s and Dollar General, who intend to pay workers extra if they are vaccinated.
“Our goal in introducing our new vaccine support grant is to make sure that when the time comes, Instacart buyers don’t have to choose between earning revenue as an essential service provider or vaccination,” said Apoorva Mehta, CEO of Instacart. statement.
San Francisco-based Instacart has nearly doubled its workforce to nearly 500,000 to meet growing demand for online shopping since the pandemic that erupted in the United States last spring.
Trader Joe’s food chain said on Thursday it would give employees two hours to pay per dose to get the vaccine. The company from Monrovia, California, said it will also shift around programs to ensure employees have time to get vaccinated.
Dollar General said Wednesday it will give employees the equivalent of four hours’ pay if they receive the vaccine. The retailer in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, said it has 157,000 employees.
A vaccination advisory group at the US Centers for Disease Control voted late last month on vaccine distribution recommendations. The panel said grocery workers – which would include Instacart and Dollar General employees – should be in the second group to receive shots after health workers and nursing home residents.
It is up to each state to decide how and when to adopt the CDC recommendations. Some states have already opened eligibility for the second group, which also includes firefighters, police officers, teachers, correctional staff, postal employees and people over 75 years of age. There are about 50 million people in that group.
Companies can mandate that workers receive COVID-19 vaccines as a requirement for employment, although they must be accommodated for medical or religious reasons, in accordance with the guidelines of the Federal Commission for Equal Opportunities at Work.
However, most companies are reluctant to impose such mandates, said Sharon Perley Masling, a partner at law firm Morgan Lewis, which advised clients on workplace issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The urgent nature of the FDA’s approval of the vaccine makes it impossible for many companies to request it, given that photos are not available to the majority of the population, she said.
However, Masling said the companies he works with take different steps to strongly encourage their workers to get vaccinated, including internal public relations campaigns that show top executives who are eligible to be shot. Other incentives include free childcare, paid leave and gifts such as pizza delivery and other gifts, she said.
“It’s good for employees, it’s good for their communities and it’s good for ensuring business operations continue,” Masling said.
The impetus for vaccination comes amid signs that some people – even health care workers – are reluctant to take photos, contributing to a slower-than-expected launch of the mass US holiday effort. Masling said many of the companies are still trying to figure out how their employees feel about taking photos, with some internal inquiry referrals.
Not every company offers incentives. The DoorDash delivery app, another important platform for concert workers, said it had asked the CDC and governors to give priority to delivery workers in vaccine distribution. But it does not plan benefits for vaccinated workers.
Also, Target Corp. does not plan incentives, but said it will make the vaccine free and affordable for its 350,000 employees. Target said 1,700 of its stores have a CVS pharmacy on site that will provide the vaccine to staff when it becomes available.
Albertsons, a food chain with 2,250 American stores and 300,000 employees, also provides no financial incentives. Like DoorDash, it calls on state and local authorities to ensure that its workers receive priority for the vaccine.
Many large companies have faced criticism over the way they have treated their employees throughout the pandemic, from poor medical leave policies to poor working conditions in factories and warehouses. Companies from meat packing plants to Amazon have faced absences of workers and outbreaks that have forced the temporary closure of their factories and warehouses. There is also an upcoming debate in Congress as to whether employers should be exempted from legal obligations related to coronavirus exposure, as many recall employees in offices and other jobs.
These challenges provide a strong incentive for companies to vaccinate their workers and put the pandemic behind them, said Laura Boudreau, a professor of economics at Columbia Business School who specializes in labor rights.
“Many of them have had to defend their reputation for the way they treat their employees throughout the pandemic,” Boudreau said.
Instacart is among several companies that have lobbied for their workers to be a priority for vaccines. The company has faced criticism and some workers’ concerns about allegations that it has not done enough to protect its workers, who do not receive health insurance through the company or have not guaranteed paid sick leave.
The company says it has distributed 620,000 free safety kits to its workers, including face masks and hand sanitizers. In March, it introduced a new policy to offer 14 days of paid leave to workers who are diagnosed with COVID-19 or who have been ordered to be quarantined due to potential exposure.
Workers and the rights group said it was still not enough to discourage people with symptoms from staying home. The company later began offering telemedicine appointments to workers with COVID-19 symptoms.