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Cigna offering employees emergency paid leave; CVS to hire 50K workers

Cigna and CVS Health say they are providing certain workers additional compensation and paid leave to cope with the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis.

The supportive measures responding to the COVID-19 outbreak vary greatly, but all have the intended purpose of making life easier for a large group of healthcare professionals as cases of the novel coronavirus mount nationally.

At Cigna, the Bloomfield-based health insurer says it’s offering employees 10 days of emergency paid time off for COVID-19 related absences through year-end. The paid leave is meant for all full-time benefits-eligible employees who may be sick, in quarantines unable to work, or caretaking for sick family members, officials say.

Cigna said it’s also providing an unspecified amount of compensation to employees (including doctors, nurses and pharmacists) who are still being asked to work on-site to provide medical care directly to COVID-19 impacted patients and others. On Monday, the health insurer also encouraged additional employees to work remotely.

“The company is now mandating all employees with the capability to work from home to do so immediately,” officials said in a statement.

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Rhode-Island based pharmacy giant CVS, which acquired Hartford health insurer Aetna in late 2018, says it’s also kickstarting its “most ambitious” hiring effort in the company’s 56-year history.

CVS on Monday announced plans to immediately hire 50,000 full- and part-time employees, and other temporary workers, across the U.S. as it looks to fill roles including store associates, home delivery drivers, distribution center employees and member/customer service professionals.

The company is also awarding bonuses between $150 to $500 to employees who are required to work at CVS facilities, including store associates and managers, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals and site-based hourly workers.

CVS said it will conduct job fairs, interviews and tryouts virtually, and a significant number of roles will be filled by existing clients who were forced to furlough workers, including Hilton and Marriott.
 
“Our colleagues have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to providing essential goods and services at a time when they’re needed most,” said CVS CEO and President Larry J. Merlo. “As they continue to be there for the individuals and families we serve, we’re taking extra steps to provide some peace of mind and help them navigate these uncertain times.”

Cigna and CVS are not the only employers giving additional pay and benefits to workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The parent company of Stop & Shop and Peapod has given employees a 10% pay increase and two additional weeks of paid leave if they become sick during the COVID-19 outbreak.

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