The massive Rite-Aid drugstore chain announced on Monday that it was boosting its workforce by thousands of employees and was offering additional compensation to its entire staff during the coronavirus epidemic, according to a corporate representative.
The company said it was set to begin hiring 5,000 full- and part-time employees immediately, which may be welcome news to some of the millions of workers who were laid off in recently. As of last week, the nation’s unemployment rate stood at 4.4 percent, with officials expecting that number to increase as more workers are affected in the coming weeks.
The drugstore chain will be taking on additional cashiers, pharmacy techs and employees connected with the corporation’s distribution centers. It’s not clear how many of those positions will be California, where there are 542 stores, or in San Diego. A quick search on Rite Aid’s careers page revealed 28 jobs in 20 locations around San Diego County, all of which were posted March 18; no jobs had been listed since that point. Job applicants can click here for more information.
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Rite Aid also said on Monday that under a new Hero Program, it was going to boost associates' pay by $2 per hour till at least May 2, and also increase their company discounts to 35 percent. Managers, on the other hand, would each be receiving a $1,000 bonus.
Significantly, the chain also said it would be creating a Pandemic Pay policy to compensate any associates working for the company who were impacted by Covid-19. A Rite Aid representative said the policy "ensures associates are fairly compensated if diagnosed with the virus or quarantined due to exposure."
