By now, we know that the coronavirus outbreak has caused many people to lose their jobs and businesses to go under. The unemployment rate is at sky-high levels and it’s truly a sad time for the economy.
However, that doesn’t mean that every single company is suffering, or that some employees aren’t able to thrive in a time like this.
Case in point: Target The retailer has just announced some good news for their employees: That they will be permanently raising their minimum wage a whole $2 an hour, to equate to $15 an hour. In addition, the company plans to give all of its hourly employees a $200 bonus. The minimum wage raise will kick in on July 5 and employees can expect their bonus at the end of July.
In total, about 275,000 of its 350,000 employees at nearly 1,900 stores across the U.S. can expect the bonus and to see their paychecks go up.
Back in 2017, Target had made a pledge to increase wages to $15 an hour by December 2020, so it looks like the pandemic has helped them reach that goal ahead of time. The increase in pay puts Target right on par with competitors such as Amazon, which had raised its minimum wage to $15 in 2018, and ahead of Walmart, who offers just $11 an hour for minimum wage employees.
Since March, employees have already been receiving the extra $2 in their paychecks, when Target agreed to raise the pay temporarily as employees stayed open through the pandemic. After all, they were essential workers caught in the midst of working to sell essential items to frantic customers (hello, toilet paper). Additionally, at this time, around 20,000 team leaders of various departments also received a bonus of anywhere from $250 to $1,500.
Before this new increase, the last time Target raised its minimum wage was in June 2019, when they upped it from $11 to $13. However, in certain markets, employees are already getting paid at the $15 an hour mark. For example employees in New York City get $15 an hour and in San Francisco, they receive $15.75.
Besides raising the minimum wage, this week, Target has also implemented free access to virtual doctor visits for employees to access through the end of the year, a perk that even applies to employees who opt out of getting health insurance through Target.
Their generosity doesn’t stop there. The retailer is also offering an extension on the benefits it began offering when the pandemic began, including free backup child care for employees in need, free mental health counseling, and a 30-day paid leave for any employee who has been deemed a higher risk for the virus.
What do you think of Target taking care of its customers working through a global health crisis by raising their minimum wage and offering a one-time bonus?