Walmart tells staff masking on again

Signs urge same of its customers

In this July 30, 2020 file photo, shoppers wear face masks as they leave a Walmart store in Vernon Hills, Ill. Walmart is reversing its mask policy, Friday, July 30, 2021, and will require vaccinated workers in its distribution centers and stores in areas to wear masks in areas with high infection rates of the virus. (The Associated Press)
In this July 30, 2020 file photo, shoppers wear face masks as they leave a Walmart store in Vernon Hills, Ill. Walmart is reversing its mask policy, Friday, July 30, 2021, and will require vaccinated workers in its distribution centers and stores in areas to wear masks in areas with high infection rates of the virus. (The Associated Press)

Walmart Inc. on Friday resumed the mask requirements for employees that it had relaxed earlier this summer when covid-19 infection numbers dropped.

Workers at offices and all stores, clubs, distribution and fulfillment centers must wear masks inside the facilities, the company said in a memo to employees.

In accordance with current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the mask policy applies to vaccinated and unvaccinated employees.

While Walmart won't require customers to wear masks in its stores and clubs, it is posting signs that will "strongly encourage" those in counties with high or substantial risk of transmission to wear masks inside.

The memo notes that the entire state of Arkansas is currently at high risk, according to CDC data.

"As a country, vaccination options have been available for months, but, unfortunately, because so many people have chosen not to receive it, we've left ourselves more vulnerable to variants," Donna Morris, Walmart's chief people officer, and Dr. Cheryl Pegus, the company's executive vice president of health and wellness, said in their memo.

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"It is important that necessary steps are taken to keep ourselves and our communities safe," they said.

The policy change is buried deep within Walmart's corporate website. No notice of the new policy was posted on Walmart.com, the Bentonville-based retailer's shopping website, as of Friday morning.

To encourage more employees to get vaccinated, Morris and Pegus said Walmart is doubling its financial incentive.

Walmart has been paying workers in stores, clubs, transportation offices, and distribution and fulfillment centers $75 to get vaccinated. Workers will now get $150, and employees who already received the $75 incentive will get another $75 in their Aug. 19 paychecks.

The incentive program will be in place until Oct. 4.

In a separate memo to employees, Walmart Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon said the company will require vaccinations by Oct. 4 as a condition of employment for workers at its Bentonville headquarters and those in management positions who travel within the U.S., unless they have an "approved exception."

McMillon said the company will release more information on the vaccination requirement and the steps employees must take to verify vaccinations. Walmart has policies and a process to address situations in which employees don't get the vaccine for medical or religious reasons, he said.

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The vaccination policy does not apply to workers in stores, clubs, transportation offices, and distribution and fulfillment centers, a Walmart spokesman said.

Walmart's offices are open at a limited capacity for now, McMillon said. The company wants to be closer to pre-pandemic levels after Labor Day, he said, but the situation will be monitored and adjustments to that timeline will be made if needed.

McMillon reiterated earlier remarks that the company will give employees more flexibility in scheduling to aid productivity, and retain and attract workers.

"We will identify new ways of working together on the other side of this virus," McMillon said, "but we have to fight the virus, all of us, to get there."

Supermarket chain Albertsons told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that it is also considering mask and vaccination mandates, and is preparing for lockdowns in certain parts of the country.

Analysts say negative reactions to renewed restrictions are virtually inevitable.

"It's a bold stance on Walmart's part," said Ken Perkins, president of research firm Retail Metrics LLC. "It's probably the mature and adult thing to do on their part."

"But yeah, I expect pushback from employees and customers alike," he said, especially in the Southern states plus Arkansas and Missouri -- places where vaccination rates have lagged behind much of the country.

"As cases continue to rise, I think you're going to see more retailers in the unenviable position of having to reinstate these mask mandates and consider mandatory vaccinations for their employees," Perkins said.

"No one wants this again," Perkins said. "Everyone wants a return to normalcy."

Carol Spieckerman, retail consultant and president of Spieckerman Retail, also expects a backlash on the new policy, and said Walmart will take the brunt of it initially.

"Walmart is out front within the retail industry," Spieckerman said, but other retailers will inevitably follow suit.

"Walmart is following the science and taking prudent steps that, given its scale, could have a real impact on overall immunity," Spieckerman said. "In the meantime, masked employees across thousands of stores will serve as a good example without ambiguity."

Perkins also sees a silver lining in Walmart's predicament.

"Walmart is taking the lead on this in the retail space," he said. "Requiring their management who travels to be vaccinated might have the positive influence of pushing some people off the fence and potentially getting vaccinated."

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