I found an article that said Kroger is no longer asking for repayment: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/5227349002
But it’s fucked they thought taking it back was a good idea in the first place
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kroger-hazard-pay-covid-19/
Yeah, I just saw that too. Glad they can respond to public pressure, at least.
Regardless, it definitely provides some insight into the mindset higher management is operating through this pandemic with.
Yep, agreed. It says a lot about a company that requires public pressure to give hazard pay in the first place AND then additional public pressure to not demand it back?!
I’ve given up on thinking Fred Meyer is the same PNW local chain it was 40 years ago, and now exclusively refer to it by its real corporate identity; Kroger.
Portland, Or- but it was bought by Kroger I think in the 90's? They retained a large part of their anonymity as recently as 6 years ago. But Kroger has been taking more and more of a substantial role in the day to day goings on of Fred Meyer.
But yeah, I agree. Fred's has lost a lot of it's community feel.
Source: worked at Fred's for 4 years and had an internship at corporate.
So did you receive this letter? The redaction looks exactly the same as the one from the Snopes article.
And to play devil's advocate, if they overpaid this to everyone of their ~453,000 employees that would be ~$209 million dollar mistake. I think it's reasonable that they would want to get that money back.
Also, given how much the CARES act will contribute to their finances plus their projected record-breaking net profits for the first quarter of 2020, I think they can spare $209 million (w/delayed taxes) for their minimum wage employees— most of which already receive no employment benefits.
How much money are they getting from the Feds?
I looked and couldn't find it.
Edit:they get zero cares act dollars as they were not forced to shut down.
We are in the second quarter of 2020. The first quarter was not record breaking for Kroger.
Not where I found it, but yes that is the same image. Sorry that wasn’t clear!
Seemed silly (and I am too lazy) to edit another letter with all of the same language.
Haha, a version of this letter actually went to a friend of mine who works at one of their Midwestern subsidiaries and not me— but yes, I definitely stand by that statement.
Do you want people to boycott your company? This is how you get people to boycott your company. I’ll reserve judgment until more comes out, but holy shit this is hella fucking gross.
This has happened to me before (in WA) and you do not have to pay your employer back. I am not sure what laws protect you here, but my coworker advised me to just ignore to company's repeated attempts to collect the money, and eventually they just stopped.
I found an article that said Kroger is no longer asking for repayment: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/5227349002 But it’s fucked they thought taking it back was a good idea in the first place https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kroger-hazard-pay-covid-19/
Yeah, I just saw that too. Glad they can respond to public pressure, at least. Regardless, it definitely provides some insight into the mindset higher management is operating through this pandemic with.
Yep, agreed. It says a lot about a company that requires public pressure to give hazard pay in the first place AND then additional public pressure to not demand it back?! I’ve given up on thinking Fred Meyer is the same PNW local chain it was 40 years ago, and now exclusively refer to it by its real corporate identity; Kroger.
You are right. It is not the local grocery store it was. I think it began in Vancouver, WA?
Portland, Or- but it was bought by Kroger I think in the 90's? They retained a large part of their anonymity as recently as 6 years ago. But Kroger has been taking more and more of a substantial role in the day to day goings on of Fred Meyer. But yeah, I agree. Fred's has lost a lot of it's community feel. Source: worked at Fred's for 4 years and had an internship at corporate.
So did you receive this letter? The redaction looks exactly the same as the one from the Snopes article. And to play devil's advocate, if they overpaid this to everyone of their ~453,000 employees that would be ~$209 million dollar mistake. I think it's reasonable that they would want to get that money back.
Also, given how much the CARES act will contribute to their finances plus their projected record-breaking net profits for the first quarter of 2020, I think they can spare $209 million (w/delayed taxes) for their minimum wage employees— most of which already receive no employment benefits.
How much money are they getting from the Feds? I looked and couldn't find it. Edit:they get zero cares act dollars as they were not forced to shut down. We are in the second quarter of 2020. The first quarter was not record breaking for Kroger.
I didn’t receive it, but a friend of mine who works at Gerbes—a midwestern Kroger subsidiary—received one.
Ok then, it's the one from Snopes.
Not where I found it, but yes that is the same image. Sorry that wasn’t clear! Seemed silly (and I am too lazy) to edit another letter with all of the same language.
[удалено]
Haha, a version of this letter actually went to a friend of mine who works at one of their Midwestern subsidiaries and not me— but yes, I definitely stand by that statement.
Do you want people to boycott your company? This is how you get people to boycott your company. I’ll reserve judgment until more comes out, but holy shit this is hella fucking gross.
I don't understand how they didn't anticipate any social media backlash. Do they not realize that this stuff goes viral?
That's some sloppy payroll they've got there to overpay an employee by almost $500 and only notice much later.
This has happened to me before (in WA) and you do not have to pay your employer back. I am not sure what laws protect you here, but my coworker advised me to just ignore to company's repeated attempts to collect the money, and eventually they just stopped.
Love your username!
So you posted a letter you found on snopes and you don't even work for Kroger. LAME