MD Wegmans Grocery Stores Giving Employees Wellness Checks

MARYLAND — The Wegmans grocery store chain is now requiring Maryland employees to undergo a wellness check before starting every shift due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The chain, based in Rochester, N.Y., announced the program on Monday. According to Wegmans officials, employees are being asked to answer a series of questions about coronavirus symptoms before starting work. The company is in the process of rolling out temperatures checks at all of its stores, as well.

Any worker showing symptoms of the coronavirus, or with a temperature of 100 degrees or higher, will be asked to go home and contact a doctor, the company said. Those employees still will be paid, according to the grocery chain.

Wegmans also announced it is increasing the pay of all employees by $2 an hour during March and April. It has also made efforts to accommodate more vulnerable employees by offering them the chance to move into different roles, officials said.

Don't miss local and statewide Maryland news about coronavirus developments and precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.

When a Wegmans employee tests positive for the coronavirus, the company said it follows the following protocol:

• A team of experts has an in-depth conversation with the employee to offer support, determine when symptoms started and with whom they had close contact.
• Other employees who may have been infected are taken out of work and paid during their quarantine.
• The company notifies local health departments.
• The public is alerted if there is determined to have been any risk of infection to customers.

A month ago Wegmans changed its business hours in response to the coronavirus. Stores are now open the following hours: Maryland stores, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The chain does not offer senior shopper times because it says stores are stock and cleaned throughout the day.

• Along with additional hand sanitizer stations, stores sanitize high-contact touch points (weight scales, door handles, shopping carts, etc.
• Stores encourage social distancing by placing visual indicators on all front end and in the pharmacies to limit exposure while customers wait.
• Plexiglass shields are being installed at our pharmacies and front-end registers.
• Masks are being provided for employees.
• Stores now operate at 15-20 percent of their maximum occupancy to ensure social distancing by customers.

Related:

• MD Coronavirus Cases Near 9,000; Search By Zip Code
• $1M Donation From Horizon Foundation To Help During Coronavirus
• Coronavirus: Baltimore-Area Fresh Markets To Require Face Covers