Dollar General To Pay Its Employees To Get The COVID Vaccine

Companies across the country have been offering their employees different incentives to get the COVID-19 vaccine including receiving additional compensation. Businesses feel it is necessary to reward their workers for taking this all-important step to protect themselves against the virus.

Dollar General is one of the first companies to offer its employees an extra stipend if they decide to get the COVID-19 vaccine.  There are 17,000 store sites in 46 states including four Dollar General stores located in Sioux Falls.

According to an article from USA Today, the company made the announcement to all employees last Wednesday.  The Dollar General explains that they will give salaried employees monetary allowances equivalent to four hours of work if they choose to get the COVID-19 vaccine.  The company tells USA Today that, "the extra pay is intended to compensate for the travel time, mileage and child care expenses that employees could incur to get the vaccine. 'We do not want our employees to have to choose between receiving a vaccine or coming to work.' " Employees who decide to receive the vaccine will also be helping Dollar General create an even safer retail environment for its workers as well as store patrons. Trader Joe’s and Instacart are also offering similar programs for their employees.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) vaccine advisory panel recommended that grocery store workers be included in the second group on the vaccine distribution list.  These individuals would follow all health care workers and nursing home residents.  Firefighters, police, teachers, correctional officers, and people 75-years or older are also included in the second group with grocery store employees.