As vaccinations continue in the United States, some companies are offering financial incentives to encourage their workers to get vaccines.
Instacart Inc., a grocery delivery service, announced on Thursday that it would provide a $ 25 grant to workers receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. She joins others, including Trader Joe’s and Dollar General, who plan to pay workers more if they get vaccinated.
“Our goal with the introduction of our new vaccine support stipend is to ensure that, when the time comes, Instacart buyers don’t have to choose between earning income as a provider of essential services or getting vaccinated,” said Instacart’s CEO , Apoorva Mehta, in a statement.
San Francisco-based Instacart has nearly doubled its workforce, mostly gig to about 500,000, to meet an increase in demand for online shopping since the pandemic erupted in the U.S. last spring.
Trader Joe’s supermarket chain said on Thursday it would give employees two hours of pay per dose to receive the vaccine. The Monrovia, Calif.-Based company said it would also change schedules to ensure employees have time to get vaccinated.
Dollar General said on Wednesday that it will give employees the equivalent of four hours of pay if they receive the vaccine. The Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based retailer said it employs 157,000 people.
A vaccine advisory panel at the US Centers for Disease Control voted late last month on recommendations for vaccine distribution. The panel said grocery workers – who would include Instacart and Dollar General employees – should be in the second group to receive injections, 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 opened eligibility for the second group, which also includes firefighters, police, teachers, prison officials, postal workers and people aged 75 and over. There are about 50 million people in that group.
Companies may require that workers receive COVID-19 vaccines as a requirement for employment, although they must make adaptations for medical or religious reasons, according to the guidance of the federal Equal Employment Opportunities Commission.
However, most companies are reluctant to impose such mandates, said Sharon Perley Masling, a partner at the Morgan Lewis law firm that has been advising clients on work issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergency nature of FDA approval of the vaccine makes it impractical for many companies to require it, since vaccines are not available to the majority 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 who can get the vaccines. Other incentives include free daycare, paid time off and gifts like pizza delivery and other gifts, she said.
“It is good for employees, it is good for their communities and it is good for ensuring the continuity of business operations,” said Masling.
The impulse to vaccinate comes amid signs that some people – even health professionals – are reluctant to take the photos, contributing to a slower-than-expected implementation of the mass holiday effort in the U.S. Masling said many companies are still trying to find out how their employees feel about the photos, with some sending in internal surveys.
Not every company offers incentives. The DoorDash delivery app, another great platform for concert workers, said it asked the CDC and governors to prioritize delivery workers in delivering vaccines. But it does not plan benefits for vaccinated workers.
Target Corp. nor does it 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 employees when it becomes available.
Albertsons, a supermarket chain with 2,250 stores in the United States and 300,000 employees, is also not distributing financial incentives. Like DoorDash, it is asking state and local authorities to ensure that its employees have priority over the vaccine.
Many large companies have faced criticism about how they treated their employees during the pandemic, from low quality sick leave policies to poor working conditions inside factories and warehouses. Companies, from slaughterhouses to the Amazon, faced shortages of workers and outbreaks that forced the temporary closure of their factories and warehouses. There is also an impending debate in Congress over whether employers should be exempt from legal responsibilities related to exposure to coronavirus, as more employees summon their employees to offices and other workplaces.
These challenges provide a strong incentive for companies to vaccinate their workers and leave the pandemic behind, said Laura Boudreau, professor of economics at Columbia Business School, specializing in labor rights.
“Many of them had to defend their reputation in terms of how they are treating their employees during the pandemic,” said Boudreau.
Instacart is among several companies that have been lobbying for their employees to have priority in vaccines. The company has faced criticism and some unease from workers because of claims that it has not done enough to protect its gig workers, who do not have health insurance through the company or guaranteed paid sick leave.
The company says it distributed 620,000 free safety kits to its workers, including face masks and hand sanitizers. She introduced a new policy in March to provide 14 days paid leave to show workers who are diagnosed with COVID-19 or who have been quarantined due to potential exposure.
Workers and a human rights group said it was still not enough to discourage people with symptoms from staying at home. Subsequently, the company started providing telemedicine consultations to workers with symptoms of COVID-19.