Kroger, which is the largest traditional grocery store chain in the nation, has said that special paid COVID-19 leave would no longer be available for unvaccinated employees. However, it will remain for breakthrough cases of infection among the vaccinated. The special leave policy had been initiated by the company at the onset of the pandemic when vaccines were unavailable or not easily available.

The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, after seeing a company memo. It also mentioned beginning January 1, unvaccinated salaried workers and those who are a part of the health care plan of Kroger will have to pay a $50 “monthly health insurance surcharge.”

Kroger released a statement that said that the company had created and amended many workplace policies when the pandemic began, in order to support their associates as there was a huge amount of uncertainty. The company added that vaccine administration to their associates had been an integral part of their efforts and continued to be a focus.

On Tuesday, the Cincinnati based grocer did not disclose the number of employees who have been fully vaccinated. The grocery chain operates in 35 states and has close to 500,000 employees including brands such as Ralphs, King Soopers and Fred Meyer.

A Kroger spokesperson also said that the company continues to implement enhanced cleaning. The store also implements a mask policy for all its employees regardless of their vaccination status and follows social distancing. It does not have a mandatory vaccination policy but encourages employees to get vaccinated by offering a financial incentive of $100.

President Joe Biden had brought vaccine mandates but a federal judge recently issued an injunction against a vaccine mandate nationwide, for federal contractors, this month. However, on Monday, the Supreme Court refused to block a vaccine mandate for health care workers in New York.

In the past, the highest court in the nation also declined challenges from others such as Indiana University students, New York teachers and health care workers from the states of Maine and Massachusetts.

The White House said that Kroger had initiated the removal of the special COVID -19 leave for unvaccinated on its own and it was not a part of the federal government policy.  

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