In a push to get more of its workers to take the coronavirus vaccine, retail giant Target is offering extra pay and free transportation to its hourly workers who take the vaccine.
In a release, Target said it will offer up to four hours of pay for those who get both shots and will cover the cost of a Lyft ride (up to $15 each way) to a vaccination appointment. Target is also working on getting CVS and other providers to give out vaccines to employees that work at CVS pharmacies inside its stores.
The retail giant has more than 350,000 workers across the U.S. A spokeswoman told CNBC it will not require its employees to take the vaccine.
“As more vaccines become available, especially for frontline and essential workers, we’ll help our team members across the country get the information and access they need,” Target’s Chief Human Resources Officer Melissa Kremer said in the release.
While more people have been recently added to the list of who can get vaccinated (cab drivers, those with pre-existing conditions) many Americans are still waiting to get their shots.
Target joins a growing list of companies that are offering incentives to
employees who take the vaccine. Aldi, Dollar General, and Trader Joe’s are all offering four hours of pay for taking the vaccine. Kroger is offering $100 to its employees that take the vaccine.
Chobani and McDonald’s are also offering cash payments to employees that take the vaccine. According to a report by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, almost 150 frontline grocery workers have died in the pandemic and more than 30,000 grocery workers have been infected by the virus.
Those numbers don’t count toward the workers who’ve gotten sick or died
that work at Walmart, Amazon, and Whole Foods where workers either are not unionized or don’t count as full-time grocery workers. Target has not released how many of its employees have gotten infected or died from the coronavirus. The pandemic has killed more than 480,000 Americans and infected more than 27 million.