INSTACART, OTHERS PUSH INCENTIVES TO GET VACCINATIONS FOR WORKERS
As vaccinations continue across the U.S., some companies are offering financial incentives to encourage their workers to get the shots.
Instacart Inc., the grocery delivery service, announced Thursday that it would provide a $25 stipend for workers who get the COVID-19 vaccine. It joins others, including Trader Joe’s and Dollar General, which plans to pay workers extra if they get vaccinated.
“Our goal with the introduction of our new vaccine support stipend is to ensure that, when the time comes, Instacart shoppers don’t have to choose between earning income as an essential service provider or getting vaccinated,” Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta said in a statement.
San Francisco-based Instacart has nearly doubled its mostly gig workforce to about 500,000 to meet a surge in demand for online grocery shopping since the pandemic erupted in the U.S. last spring.
Grocery chain Trader Joe’s said Thursday it will give employees two hours of pay per dose for getting the vaccine. The Monroviabased company said it will also shift around schedules to make sure employees have time to get vaccinated.
Dollar General said Wednesday it will give employees the equivalent of four hours of pay if they get the vaccine. The Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based retailer said it employs 157,000 people.
A vaccine advisory panel at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control voted late last month on recommendations for vaccine distribution. The panel said grocery workers — which would include Instacart and Dollar General’s employees — should be in the second group to receive shots after health care workers and nursing home residents.
It is up to each state to decide how and when to adopt the CDC’s recommendations.
Companies can mandate that workers get COVID-19 vaccines as a requirement for employment, although they must make accommodations for medical or religious reasons, according to guidance from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Some companies are taking various steps to encourage their workers to get vaccinated, including internal public relations campaigns showing top executives who are eligible getting the shots. Other incentives include free child care, paid time off and freebies such as pizza delivery and other gifts.
Not every company is offering incentives. Delivery app DoorDash, another big platform for gig workers, said it has asked the CDC and governors to prioritize delivery workers in vaccine distribution. But it doesn’t plan perks for workers who get vaccinated.
Target also plans no 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’s available.
Albertsons, a grocery chain with 2,250 U.S. stores and 300,000 employees, also isn’t doling out financial incentives. Like DoorDash, it’s asking state and local authorities to make sure its workers get vaccine priority.
Many large companies have faced criticism over how they have treated their employees throughout the pandemic, from shoddy sick leave policies to poor working conditions inside factories and warehouses. Companies from meatpacking plants to Amazon have grappled with worker absences and outbreaks that have forced temporary shutdowns of their factories and warehouses.
Instacart is among several companies that have lobbied for their workers to be prioritized for vaccines. The company has faced criticism and some worker unrest over allegations that it has not done enough to protect its gig workers, who don’t get health insurance through the company or guaranteed paid sick leave.
The company says it has distributed 620,000 free safety kits to its workers, including face masks and hand sanitizers. It introduced a new policy in March to provide 14 days of paid leave for gig workers who are diagnosed with COVID-19 or have been ordered to quarantine because of potential exposure.