Sanderson Farms implemented a temporary weekly attendance bonus for employees equivalent to $1.00 an hour for each hour worked. The incentive began March 30, 2020, and will end June 26, 2020.
Employees must have perfect attendance during the week in order to earn the bonus. The attendance bonus is applicable to all hourly positions, including new hires.
“By offering a weekly bonus for employees, we hope to show our appreciation for their hard work and contribution to maintaining the U.S. food supply during this critical period,” said Lampkin Butts, Sanderson Farms president and chief operating officer. “When Sanderson Farms employees come to work each day, they are supporting not only themselves and their families, but the entire nation.”
Sanderson Farms recently announced additional measures the company is taking to protect the health and safety of its employees, and the quality of its products, during the COVID-19 pandemic. These precautions include travel restriction for employees, growers, contractors, and vendors, as well as, denying access to every person attempting to enter any Sanderson Farms location with a temperature of 100° Fahrenheit or greater.
“Our top priority is keeping our employees safe and healthy. Sanderson Farms is doing everything it can to protect its employees while they are at work,” said Butts. “The company consults daily with physicians and other health experts on how best to ensure employee wellbeing.”
Sanderson Farms, on March 23, was the first U.S. meat and poultry company to report a confirmed case of COVID-19 involving an employee, after a worker at the Sanderson Farms poultry processing plant in McComb, Mississippi, tested positive.
Since that time, Perdue Farms and Foster Farms have also reported cases of employees with COVID-19.
View our continuing coverage of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.