(TeaParty.org Exclusive) – The country’s largest grocery store chain has decided to alienate unvaccinated workers and violate their freedom and personal liberty. On Tuesday, Kroger, which employs nearly 500,000 workers, announced it would be making life more difficult for unvaccinated employees.
No longer will the unvaccinated be eligible to receive up to two weeks paid emergency sick leave if they should contract one or all of the COVID-19 variants. Additionally, the supermarket giant will now be requiring unvaccinated employees to pay a $50 monthly health insurance surcharge, starting next month.
“We are modifying policies to encourage safe behaviors including vaccination, which we continue to incentivize with a $100 payment for all fully vaccinated associates,” said Kristal Howard, director of Corporate Communications and Media Relations for Kroger in an email to The Epoch Times.
The $50 monthly surcharge will only affect unvaccinated managers and other non-union employees.
A “$50 monthly surcharge will be implemented on Jan. 1, 2022 and only apply to salaried associates who are unvaccinated and enrolled in a company healthcare plan,” not to hourly associates or unionized workers, said Howard.
“While COVID-19 leave will no longer be available to unvaccinated associates, we continue to offer a variety of forms of leave for associates who may contract the virus, including earned PTO and the ability to apply for unpaid leave.”
Ironically, only workers who submitted to the vaccine mandates will be eligible to receive paid sick leave should they get the virus that they were obediently vaccinated against.
If the vaccines are supposed to stop the virus then maybe it’s the vaccinated who should not be eligible to receive paid time off for contracting the virus.
Howard noted the previous emergency leave policy was adopted last year before the vaccines were available and allowed for all employees to receive their standard pay for up to 14 days after being diagnosed with the Chinese coronavirus.
Kroger did, however, decide to permit employees with approved religious or medical exemptions to continue to be eligible for the emergency leave pay.
The company also said that they will continue to make adjustments as necessary to comply with OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccine requirements.
The company said that it will continue to make adjustments and trample over their employees’ rights and freedoms in order to comply with OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccine demands.
Instead of forcing employees to get the vaccine through an outright mandate, Kroger is instead coercing their employees through incentives and now the prospect of losing out on paid emergency leave and threatening them with a monthly surcharge.
How American.
Last month, the OSHA vaccine mandate was suspended after it was blocked by a federal court. Private businesses, however, can still force their employees to take the vaccines and boosters and can fire anyone who refuses to comply.
Workers at private businesses can also be required to wear a mask or get regular weekly COVID testing. It also appears that it’s perfectly legal for private companies to withhold company benefits and perks and tack on extra fees on their company health insurance for non-compliance.
There have been many workers who have quit their jobs over unconstitutional vaccine mandates. You’d think with the current labor shortages, companies would refrain from implementing policies that are likely to drive more employees away.
Way to go, Kroger.
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