Dollar General will pay employees to get COVID vaccine, the discount retailer says

Dollar General says it won’t require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but it will pay those who choose to do so.

The retailer announced the news Wednesday, explaining that it aims to support employees who wish to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“We do not want our employees to have to choose between receiving a vaccine or coming to work, so we are working to remove barriers (e.g., travel time, mileage, child care needs, etc.)...” the company said.

Dollar General says it will offer hourly frontline employees who get the vaccine a one-time payment equivalent to four hours of pay.

Salaried employees will be paid additional store labor hours, the company said.

The discount retailer — which employs more than 157,000 people — said it encourages employees to take the vaccine, but it won’t require them to do so as getting vaccinated is a “personal choice.”

Dollar General joins several companies that have said they want their employees to take the vaccine but won’t require it.

Kroger told the Cincinnati Enquirer it encouraged employees to get the vaccine, repeating the answer when pressed if it would be required in the future.

Communications company Verizon said Monday it has no plans to require employees to get vaccinated. CVS has also said it won’t require employees to get the vaccine, though its pharmacists are eligible to receive them and are doling vaccines out themselves, the Wall Street Journal reported.

In some jurisdictions, grocery store and other retail workers are not yet eligible for the vaccine, with early distributions limited to health care professionals, nursing home residents and older Americans.

Grocery stores, airlines and rideshare companies are among those lobbying to get earlier access to the COVID-19 vaccine — a move that would protect employees, reassure customers and potentially bolster business, according to the Journal.

New York City expanded its eligibility parameters Monday to include grocery store workers as well as public transit staff and first responders, Eater reported.

Some states include grocery store workers under their definition of “essential worker,” which may make them eligible for the vaccine soon — if not already — though it’s not always clear where retail workers fall on the priority list.

This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 7:49 AM with the headline "Dollar General will pay employees to get COVID vaccine, the discount retailer says."