Dollar General will offer its frontline workers a one-time payment, equivalent to four hours of regular pay, after they receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Salaried employees will receive additional store labor hours to accommodate their time away. Both initiatives are designed to remove barriers such as travel time and childcare needs that may prevent workers from being vaccinated.
The discount retailer doesn’t operate its own pharmacies, nor does it have the capability to host on-site vaccinations, but it is hoping to facilitate personal vaccination efforts across the company. Dollar General also is working with its distribution and transportation teams to offer similar benefits.
Even though the company sees the vaccine as a critical factor in defeating COVID, it will not force associates to be vaccinated. “We understand the decision to receive the COVID-19 vaccination is a personal choice, and although we are encouraging employees to take it, we are not requiring them to do so,” Dollar General wrote in a statement.
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