Dollar General Corp. offers workers a deal: get a Covid-19 vaccine and receive four hours of pay.
The retailer, which has 157,000 employees, is one of the first major US employers to encourage staff to get vaccinated, a sign that companies with essential employees are seeing mass vaccination as crucial to overcoming the pandemic.
Supermarkets, airlines and transportation companies are pushing for priority access to Covid-19 vaccines for their employees, hoping to protect them from the rising number of cases nationally and provide customers with certainty, which in turn is driving business.
Some major employers have said they want as many workers as possible to be vaccinated, but will no longer need staff to be vaccinated. Verizon Communications Inc. told staff this week they don’t need to be vaccinated, and CVS Health Corp., whose pharmacists hand out vaccines and qualify for doses themselves, said it encourages but not obligates shots.
Many hourly workers face challenges in getting vaccine appointments, from childcare needs and transportation restrictions to scheduling restrictions due to having multiple jobs. Some retailers are reluctant to seek medical services because they receive the minimum wage and often do not have access to work-sponsored health insurance or paid time off.