Local city ordinances require larger grocery chains to provide hazard pay to employees

The City Council of Los Angeles, California is backing a plan to require larger grocery stores to temporarily increase workers’ pay by $5/hour as hazard pay. Although at the beginning of the pandemic last spring many grocery retailers had offered some kind of hazard pay to employees, most of these bonuses ended months ago. Despite supporting hazard pay earlier in the pandemic, some larger grocery chains have opposed recent local hazard pay ordinances. For example, Kroger closed store locations in cities that have implemented ordinances such as in Long Beach, CA. Conversely, other stores like Trader Joes have been motivated by these local policies to implement their own national hazard pay increases. #covid-19 #workforce