(WNCN) — Lidl is joining retailers and grocery stores across the country offering incentives to its employees in exchange for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine shot.
As state and federal governments seek to ramp up vaccine distribution, Lidl says it is providing an extra $200 in pay to encourage all of its U.S. employees to get the shot.
The company says the initiative will help “offset the costs associated with vaccine administration, including travel costs and childcare.”
“This commitment exceeds incentives offered by other retailers,” a spokesperson for Lidl said in a release.
In March, Lidl developed a first-in-the-industry program with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield to give all its employees access to comprehensive COVID-19 medical coverage at no cost.
“We are proud to provide our employees the resources they need to receive the COVID-19 vaccine free of any obstacles,” said Johannes Fieber, CEO of Lidl US. “From the outset of the pandemic, we have worked hard to put the health and safety of our employees first. From offering free COVID-19 healthcare to our entire workforce, to installing hospital-grade air filtration in our stores and warehouses to assure cleaner and healthier air, Lidl has made it a priority to adapt our policies to work better for our people during this pandemic. We are proud to do so again today to ensure that every team member who wants to get vaccinated is able to do so as soon as possible.”
According to an internal survey, Lidl employees are eager to receive the vaccine. Nearly 8 in 10 of them plan to get the vaccine as soon as it became available, the company said.
There are ten Lidl stores in the Hampton Roads region.
