As vaccinations continue in the US, some companies are offering financial incentives to encourage their employees to take the shot.
Instacart Inc., the grocery delivery service, announced on Thursday that it would provide a $ 25 stipend to employees who receive the COVID-19 vaccine. It joins others, including Trader Joe’s and Dollar General, who plan to pay employees extra if they get vaccinated.
“Our goal with the introduction of our new vaccine support fee is to ensure that when the time comes, Instacart customers don’t have to choose between earning an income as an essential service provider or getting vaccinated,” said Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta in a statement. .
San Francisco-based Instacart has nearly doubled its primarily gig workforce to around 500,000 to meet the rising demand for online grocery shopping since the pandemic erupted in the US last spring.
Grocery chain Trader Joe’s said on Thursday that it pays employees two hours per dose to receive the vaccine. The Monrovia, California-based company said it will also shift schedules to make sure employees have time to get vaccinated.
Dollar General said Wednesday it will give workers the equivalent of four hours’ wages if they receive the vaccine. The Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based retailer said it employs 157,000 people.
A vaccine advisory panel at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control voted on recommendations for vaccine distribution late last month. The panel said grocery workers – including Instacart and Dollar General employees – should be in the second group to shoot after health workers and nursing home residents.
It is up to each state to decide how and when to adopt the CDC’s recommendations. Some states have already granted access to the second group, which also includes firefighters, police, teachers, correction workers, postal workers, and people 75 and older. There are about 50 million people in that group.
Companies can mandate that workers receive COVID-19 vaccines as a requirement for work, although they must make adjustments for medical or religious reasons, according to the Federal Commission on Equal Employment Opportunities guidelines.
However, most companies are reluctant to impose such mandates, said Sharon Perley Masling, a partner at Morgan Lewis law firm who advises clients on workplace issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The state of emergency of the vaccine’s FDA approval makes it impractical for many companies to require it, as the shots are not available to most of the population, she said.
Still, Masling said the companies she works with are taking several steps to strongly encourage their employees to get vaccinated, including internal public relations campaigns showing top executives eligible for the photo. Other incentives include free childcare, paid time off, and freebies like pizza delivery and other gifts, she said.
“It’s good for employees, it’s good for their community, and it’s good for business continuity,” said Masling.
The pressure to get vaccinated comes amid signs that some people – even health professionals – are reluctant to take the photos, contributing to a slower-than-hoped-for rollout of the massive US holiday effort. Masling said many companies are still trying to find out how their employees feel about taking the photos, and some are sending out internal investigations.
Not every company offers incentives. Delivery app DoorDash, another major platform for gig workers, said it has asked the CDC and the governors to prioritize delivery drivers in vaccine distribution. But it doesn’t plan any benefits for employees who get vaccinated.
Target Corp. also does not plan incentives, but said it will make the vaccine free and accessible to its 350,000 employees. Target said 1,700 of its stores have a CVS pharmacy on-site that will offer the vaccine to staff when it is available.
Albertsons, a supermarket chain with 2,250 US stores and 300,000 employees, also does not provide financial incentives. Like DoorDash, it is asking the state and local authorities to ensure that its employees receive priority access to the vaccine.
From shoddy absenteeism policies to poor working conditions in factories and warehouses, many large companies have been criticized for the way they treated their workers during the pandemic. Companies from meat processing plants to Amazon have grappled with employee absences and outbreaks that have resulted in temporary closures of their factories and warehouses. There is also an impending debate in Congress as to whether employers should be exempted from legal obligations related to exposure to the coronavirus as their employees are more likely to be recalled to offices and other work sites.
Those challenges are a strong incentive for companies to get their workers vaccinated and get out of the pandemic, said Laura Boudreau, an economics professor 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 during the pandemic,” said Boudreau.
Instacart is one of many companies that have lobbied to prioritize their employees on vaccines. The company has faced criticism and some unrest among employees over allegations that it has not done enough to protect its gig employees, who do not receive health insurance through the company or guaranteed paid sick leave.
The company says it has distributed 620,000 free safety kits to its employees, including face masks and hand sanitizers. It introduced a new policy in March to provide 14 days of paid time off to gig workers who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or who have been quarantined due to potential exposure.
Workers and rights group said this was still not enough to discourage people with symptoms from staying at home. The company later began providing telemedicine appointments for employees with COVID-19 symptoms.