Trader Joe’s and Instacart to Offer Employee Incentives to Get COVID-19 Vaccines

A growing number of essential businesses don’t want their employees to choose between going to work or getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

On Thursday, Trader Joe’s and Instacart joined Dollar General to offer financial incentives to their workers – deemed essential during the pandemic – to encourage them to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The move comes as grocery store workers and other essential workers prepare to be next on Moderna and Pfizer’s COVID-19 injection list.

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Starting February 1, Instacart will be offering a stipend of $ 25 to all eligible employees, including team leaders, in-store shoppers, and full-service shoppers.

The Vaccine Support Allowance is intended to “ensure that when the time comes, you don’t have to choose between earning an income as a provider of essential services or getting vaccinated,” the company said in its announcement.

Since the start of the pandemic, more than 500,000 Instacart shoppers have struggled to meet a surge in demand for online groceries as the virus continues to keep shoppers out of stores.

GENERAL DOLLAR TO PAY WORKERS TO GET COVID-19 VACCINE

Likewise, the Trader Joe’s grocery chain, which has more than 50,000 employees, announced that it would give employees two hours’ wages per dose to get vaccinated. The Monrovia, Calif., Based company said it would also change schedules to ensure employees have time to get vaccinated.

Their announcements came just 24 hours after Dollar General issued an inducement to encourage his team to receive the vaccine when available.

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The discount retailer, which has more than 16,900 stores in 46 states, said it will provide frontline team members with a one-time payment equivalent to four hours of regular pay.

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“We don’t want our employees to have to choose between getting a vaccine or coming to work, so we are working to remove the barriers,” Dollar General said in a statement. These barriers can include travel time, gas mileage and childcare needs, the company explained.

Dollar General is also working with its distribution and transportation teams “to make similar arrangements for these teams.”

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Last month, a federal advisory committee recommended that people aged 75 and over and essential workers like firefighters, teachers and grocery store workers receive the vaccine afterwards.

They are considered to be at very high risk of infection because their work is critical and requires them to be in regular contact with other people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.