Dollar General Corp. offers employees a deal: Go for a Covid-19 vaccine and receive four hours of payment.
The retailer, which has 157,000 employees, is among the first large American employers to encourage staff to be vaccinated, a sign that companies with essential workers believe that mass inoculation is critical in overcoming the pandemic.
Grocery stores, airlines and transit companies are playing for priority access to Covid-19 vaccines for their workers, hoping to protect them from the growing number of cases nationwide and provide customers with insurance, which in turn supports the business.
Some large employers have said they want as many workers as possible to be vaccinated, but will no longer ask staff to be shot. Verizon Communications Inc. told employees this week he would not ask them to get vaccinated, and CVS Health Corp., whose pharmacists distribute vaccines and are eligible for doses, said they encourage but do not impose vaccines.
Many hourly workers face challenges in reaching vaccination schedules, from childcare needs and transportation limitations to scheduling constraints from multiple jobs. Some retailers are wary of seeking medical services because they receive the minimum wage and often do not have access to work-sponsored health insurance coverage or paid leave.