Trader Joe's, Instacart among grocery companies offering incentives to vaccinated employees
Health care businesses and hospitals have started to offer incentives for employees that get the COVID-19 vaccine and now grocery companies are too.
Trader Joe's announced Thursday that staff who get the COVID-19 vaccine will receive two hours of pay, per dose, according to The Associated Press. The California-based grocer will also adjust schedules for employees getting vaccinated to ensure they have time to do so.
Grocery delivery service Instacart also announced Thursday that it will soon help its gig workers who plan to get the vaccine with a new vaccine support stipend.
"With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise across the country, we're taking proactive steps to advocate that government agencies recognize Instacart shoppers as critical essential workers who deserve early access to vaccines," said Instacart CEO and founder Apoorva Mehta in a statement.
The San Francisco-headquartered company said the support will be available to shift leads, in-store shoppers, and full-service shoppers as soon as Feb. 1.
The stipend will provide financial assistance for qualifying team members who take time away from shopping to get vaccinated.
"Eligible shoppers will receive $25 to ensure that, when the time comes, you don't have to choose between earning income as an essential service provider or getting vaccinated," Instacart said.
Instacart will also roll out new in-app messages to share details with eligible shoppers about how to request the stipend as the vaccine rolls out in more locations.
"Any active full-service shopper who has shopped at least 5 batches in the previous 30 days and can verify they have received a COVID-19 vaccine will be eligible to receive the stipend," the company explained. "Shift leads and in-store shoppers who are actively employed when they receive the vaccine will also be eligible."
The news from both grocery businesses came on the heels of an announcement Wednesday from Dollar General that they would provide additional pay for front-line workers to get the vaccine.
Since the company does not have an on-site pharmacy nor systems in place for employees to receive a vaccine at work, Dollar General said it will provide "frontline hourly team members with a one-time payment equivalent of four hours of regular pay after receiving a completed COVID-19 vaccination and salaried team members with additional store labor hours to accommodate their time away from the store."
"We're also working with our distribution and transportation teams to make similar accommodations for those teams," the statement continued.
Dollar General recognized that "the vaccine is one critical way to slow this pandemic" and will continue to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and precautions to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Trader Joe's did not immediately respond to "Good Morning America's" request for comment.
