Restaurants

McDonald's Announces "Hero" Bonus for Restaurant Workers During Coronavirus

The fast food giant is awarding extra cash to many of its employees.

By Kelly Gomez

May 8, 2020

McDonald's has chosen to reward its workers for their patience and sacrifice during the coronavirus pandemic by giving them a bonus.

To demonstrate its appreciation, the fast-food giant decided to hand out bonuses to employees at 700 company-owned stores. The bonuses are worth 10 percent of their earned pay in May.

The move was inspired by many of McDonald's franchise-owned stores (a majority of its 14,000 stores are owned by franchisees) awarding bonuses, appreciation pay, and even gift cards to their employees.

"McDonald's restaurant employees have been and will continue to be our primary focus through this crisis. They are vital to serving our customers and supporting our communities," the company said in a statement released on Thursday.

McDonald's isn't the only corporation that is showing appreciation to its employees. According to Nation's Restaurant News, "Other restaurant and retail chains providing employees a boost in compensation amid the COVID-19 pandemic include Starbucks, Walmart, Kroger, Amazon and Albertsons."

Starbucks, for example, is giving an additional $3 an hour to employees who are healthy and choosing to work through the end of May. When the pandemic first began, Chipotle gave hourly workers a 10 percent pay increase that lasted from March 16 to April 12.

Unfortunately, not all McDonald's locations have been as generous to their employees during the pandemic. Earlier in April, cooks and cashiers working at McDonald's stores stretching from Los Angeles to Oakland, California lead strikes, demanding personal protection equipment, paid sick leave, and hazard pay.

However, McDonald's most recent move to honor its frontline workers gives us hope that their current situations will continue to improve during these unprecedented times. It's also reassuring to see other popular businesses in the food industry following suit when it comes to making efforts to protect and showing their employees they appreciate them.

Next time you visit your favorite fast-food chain, be sure to thank the employees; they're risking their lives to make sure you get your food order.

Eat This, Not That! is constantly monitoring the latest food news as it relates to COVID-19 in order to keep you healthy, safe, and informed (and answer your most urgent questions). Here are the precautions you should be taking at the grocery store, the foods you should have on hand, the meal delivery services and restaurant chains offering takeout you need to know about, and ways you can help support those in need. We will continue to update these as new information develops. Click here for all of our COVID-19 coverage, and sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date.

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