Why some Northern California businesses are rewarding workers to take coronavirus vaccines

As COVID-19 vaccine rollouts gain steam and new manufacturers enter the market — the FDA on Wednesday granted Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine emergency use authorization — the idea of paying employees to roll up their sleeves is gathering steam.

The Biden administration is expected today to announce a plan to partner with business leaders and corporate lobbying groups to amplify efforts to get more people vaccinated. Major corporations, including Ford and The Gap, are on board to donate millions of masks to be distributed at no cost, according to the New York Times. The Biden plan also includes a push for major corporations to offer employee incentives to get vaccinated. A slew of big businesses, including Best Buy, Target and McDonald’s, have already rolled out such incentives.

In the North Bay, a number of businesses are offering cash or paid time off, while others are staying away from incentives — at least for now.

“Keysight Technologies is not offering incentives for COVID-19 vaccinations to employees at this time,” spokeswoman Denise Idone said in an email about the Santa Rosa-headquartered employer.

The same goes for Oliver’s Markets, the grocer that operates four stores in Sonoma County, said spokeswoman Sara Cummings in an email.

On the other hand, Petaluma-based Clover Sonoma is offering $100 to employees who show proof of vaccination, according to a company spokeswoman, who declined to provide details about the decision.

Santa Rosa-based Sonoma Media Investments, which owns publications that include the Business Journal and The Press Democrat, is offering $25 to employees who show proof of vaccination.

The decision for Andaz Napa, a 141-room boutique hotel in downtown Napa, rests with the Hyatt, which operates the property.

“We have not put an incentive together for this yet and are still awaiting additional corporate guidance,” said General Manager Patrick Miller.

Petaluma-headquartered Amy’s Kitchen, however, has taken a different approach.

“When it comes to vaccinations for employees, our focus has been education and accessibility,” Mike Resch, Amy’s executive vice president, administration and general counsel, said in an email statement. “To make the vaccination accessible, we worked in close partnership with Sonoma County to provide the vaccine to our employees during working hours, fully paid, in a dedicated vaccination clinic in close proximity to our Santa Rosa facility.”

Businesses can make it mandatory for employees to get the vaccine, but there could be legal implications when it comes to employees who refuse because of religious beliefs, disabilities or other medical conditions that could put an individual at risk, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

But is it a good strategy to offer incentives?

“We discussed this internally and reviewed it with outside counsel and have decided that employers should be flexible, if possible, to give employees time off to get their vaccinations,” said Brenda Gilchrist, co-founder and partner of The HR Matrix LLC, a human resources consulting firm in Santa Rosa. “However, we felt incentivizing employees to get vaccinations is unnecessary and should be left up to employees to make their own decisions regarding vaccinations.”

That may be the safest route, but the Society for Human Resource Management is looking for concrete answers.

The organization of human resources professionals is part of a coalition of more than 40 employer groups seeking clarification from the EEOC about any potential liability to businesses that offer incentives for getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

The coalition’s Feb. 1 letter to the EEOC reads, in part:

“Employer-provided incentives can assist governments in quickly and efficiently distributing vaccines. Legal uncertainty about providing such incentives, however, has many employers concerned over liability and has made them hesitant to act. We, therefore, urge the EEOC to issue guidance providing clarification on the extent to which employers may offer their employees incentives to vaccinate. To ensure the guidance is as effective and efficient as possible, we also encourage the EEOC to define what qualifies as a permissible incentive as broadly as possible.”

The EEOC’s response is pending.

Meanwhile, a bevy of national corporations have moved ahead with incentive programs for employees who get the coronavirus vaccine, including big-box stores Best Buy and Target, both based in Minneapolis.

Target on Feb. 10 publicly stated it is providing up to four hours of pay — two hours for each vaccine dose — to its hourly employees who get a COVID-19 vaccine, though it’s not a requirement to come to work. Target also said it is offering free Lyft rides, up to $15 each way, if needed to get to an appointment.

Best Buy CEO Corie Barry told investors in a Feb. 25 call that all employees will be given paid time off to get the vaccine, as well as sick time “in the event they develop side effects that warrant their needing to stay home and rest after receiving the vaccination.”

Monrovia-based Trader Joe’s will give employees two hours of pay for each vaccine dose, and will provide flexible schedules to accommodate appointments, the Associated Press reported on Jan. 14.

Other national employers stating such incentives include McDonald’s, Amtrak and yogurt maker Chobani, among others.

Cheryl Sarfaty covers tourism, hospitality, health care and education. She previously worked for a Gannett daily newspaper in New Jersey and NJBIZ, the state’s business journal. Cheryl has freelanced for business journals in Sacramento, Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from California State University, Northridge. Reach her at cheryl.sarfaty@busjrnl.com or 707-521-4259.