Marmora ShopRite Employee Tests Positive For Coronavirus

UPPER TOWNSHIP, NJ — An employee at ShopRite in Marmora tested positive for the coronavirus, the store announced Wednesday. The grocery store has kept him or her away from the workplace and has notified colleagues who may have been in close contact with the associate.

During the pandemic, the store has implemented deep-cleaning procedures, limited occupancy and placed Plexiglas shields at registered. Here are more coronavirus precautions ShopRite's parent company, Wakefern Food Corp., has taken.

ShopRite began providing employees with an extra $2 per hour as hazard pay March 22. The grocery chain reduced that amount to $1 per hour July 5, according to United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), a union representing many ShopRite employees.

ShopRite will eliminate hazard pay Aug. 2. Daniel Emmer, a Wakefern Food Corp. communications representative, sent Patch the following statement:

"Since March 22, ShopRite has provided its associates with a Temporary Emergency Premium Pay of $2 per hour. Since the onset of the program, more than $54 million has been invested in our associates in the form of incremental wages. In addition, the Wakefern Cooperative invested millions on safety measures and new sanitation protocols in stores to protect associates and customers.

"As non-essential businesses start to reopen, we have begun the process of transitioning to pre-COVID-19 wages. We will discontinue the emergency premium pay effective August 2, 2020.

"Throughout the COVID-19 health emergency, the safety of our customers and associates has been our top priority. Like other retailers, we adhere to CDC and state guidance requiring associates and customers to wear face coverings and practice the social distancing and sanitation measures we have put in place."

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UFCW Local 152 — the union's chapter based in Egg Harbor Township — has pleaded for employers to maintain hazard pay through the pandemic. They noted July 1 that Acme Markets eliminated it altogether.

"Today we learned that ShopRite has made the decision to reduce the $2/hour hazard pay," UFCW Local 152 wrote July 1 on Facebook. "The hazard pay should be permanent as long as we are dealing with a pandemic.

"While we believe it should stay at least $2/hour, we thank ShopRite for maintaining something on behalf of our members. Acme Markets should be ashamed for terminating it. Instead, from July 5th through August 1st ShopRite members will receive an extra $1/hour."

Read more: NJ Coronavirus, Reopen Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

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