Retailers and Their Employees Face New Harsh Reality Due to COVID-19

By: Samantha Spinaci

The rise of COVID-19 in the U.S. has caused many retailers to take precautions to protect customers, employees and the general public by closing their doors. These closures have caused temporarily unemployment for many, without knowing when they will return to work again.

On March 13, President Trump issued a national state of emergency to combat the spread of COVID-19.

That same day, Glossier and Patagonia were some of the first retail stores to announce their closures, which then prompted a flood of retailers to follow. According to Business Insider, now more than 90 major US retailers have temporarily closed their stores.

Some stores like Walmart, Publix, and Kroger have been able to alter their hours due to being deemed essential to society, while others are faced with not knowing when they will be able to reopen.

One example includes Macy’s. Macy’s, Macy’s Backstage, Blue Mercury, Bloomingdale’s, and other outlet stores originally closed their locations on March 17, according to CNBC.

As of Monday, March 31, Macy’s announced that it would furlough most of its 125,000 employees. A Washinton Post article said, “employees who are furloughed will be able to keep health benefits through May, and they are expected to be brought back on a staggered basis when businesses resume to normal.”

Macy’s is just one of many companies who are having to find ways to pay, take care of, and give their employees hope for an unknown reopen date.

TJX CEO Ernie Herman announced on March 19 the temporary closure of all TJ Maxx stores globally, as well as temporarily closing online business, offices, distribution centers, and fulfillment centers.

TJX’s 270,000 employees were said to be paid for up to two weeks. The employees are being paid based on their average amount of hours worked.

On April 2, after the two week period, employees were supposed to return to work. However, due to the continued rise in COVID-19 cases in the U.S., they will not reopen and there is currently no scheduled date of reopening.

With no clear end date of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has yet to be determined when retailers will open their doors again. It is also unknown how retailers will operate once open and when they allow employees to return to work.