Cub Foods requires employees to wear face masks, but not customers
Cub Foods announced Friday it will require and provide face masks for all its employees, but is stopping short on demanding the same of customers.
Previously, Cub had said employees were allowed to wear masks and gloves, but were not requiring it. That changed on Friday, with the company announcing the new policy "to better protect associates and customers in the store."
Stores that have announced the same requirement include Walmart, Hy-Vee, Whole Foods and Aldi, as well as local grocers Kowalski's, Lunds & Byerlys and Coburn’s.
However, the Twin Cities' largest grocery chain is not following the likes of Costco and Menards to insist that customers also wear masks.
Instead, the company is "recommending all customers wear a face covering while shopping in the store. "
It's the latest in a series of measures the retailer has taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
In mid-March, the company instituted a temporary, $2 hourly pay raise planned to continue until June 6. It has also increased its overtime rate, paying workers double their hourly rate.
It's also installed plexiglass dividers at its checkouts, service desks, pharmacies and liquor stores, and implemented "continuous cleaning and sanitizing" of carts, surfaces, doors, payment pin pads, and register belts.