Whole Foods Market mandates masks for all employees

May 8 2020, 8:19 pm

In response to life’s recent changes, Whole Foods Market has mandated all employees wear masks at work, alongside a slew of other safety measures and company adjustments.

The new measure affects in-store team members, Prime Now Shoppers, and third-party workers. Staff are also being offered gloves and personal face shields for additional protection.

The grocery chain is asking that customers also wear masks, which will be provided at store entrances to those individuals who don’t have their own.

Additionally, Whole Foods has implemented enhanced daily cleanliness and sanitation protocols across all stores and facilities, and is operating locations under social distancing guidelines.

The grocer said that beyond the above, store capacities have been adjusted to align with store sizes, and spacing guidelines for lines have been placed throughout locations at registers and in specific departments.

To further support employees, all part- and full-time hourly staff are receiving an additional $2 per hour, and will receive double their regular hourly base rate of pay for every overtime hour worked in a workweek during this time.

Enhanced overtime pay is something that Whole Foods Market activates during high-volume holidays, emergency situations or natural disasters. Team members also have unlimited call-outs right now, for circumstances where they’re unable or unwilling to work a scheduled shift.

Any Whole Foods employees placed in quarantine or diagnosed with COVID-19 will receive up to an additional two weeks of paid time off, per Amazon, Whole Foods said. Also, an additional $1.6 million from Amazon is available through the Team Member Emergency Fund, which is available to all team members faced with an unforeseeable emergency or critical situation.

The fund’s total currently sits at $3.34 million, and all additional donations to it will be matched 100% by Whole Foods Market.

Team members have reportedly been asked to halt all non-essential business travel, and those who can work from home have been empowered to do so. The company has also designated shopping hours specifically for staff.

In the US, mandatory daily temperature checks for store staff and Prime Now Shoppers have been implemented, but the grocer doesn’t say that these have begun in Canada at this time.

Kayla GladyszKayla Gladysz

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