Shelby Tauber, for The Texas Tribune
The drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site at Fair Park in Dallas. Feb. 8, 2021.
The bosses at corporate over at Kroger made an announcement this week that will almost certainly add a heaping helping of habaneros to the political hot potato known as Covid vaccinations.
The Cincinnati-based grocery chain told employees last week that it will no longer provide two weeks of paid emergency leave for unvaccinated employees who contract Covid-19, unless local jurisdictions require otherwise. Kroger will also add a $50 monthly surcharge to company health plans for unvaccinated managers and other nonunion employees.
The news was first reported by the The Wall Street Journal, which viewed a company-wide memo detailing the moves, which will go into effect Jan. 1.
A Kroger spokeswoman told the Journal that the company’s announcement was designed to encourage safe behaviors as it prepares to navigate the next phase of the pandemic, as well as create a healthier workplace and workforce.
Kroger is one of the biggest employers in the U.S. with almost half a million full-time and part-time employees. Kroger and other companies face uncertainty over federal vaccination mandates to start Jan. 4 have been put in limbo by court challenges.
Kroger’s moves are not a first. Delta Air Lines added a $200 monthly surcharge to its healthcare plan in August. That spurred a run of vaccines at the company, officials say.