Lakeland-based grocery chain Publix says it will now install plexiglass to protect workers from the current coronavirus pandemic.
The new plexiglass installations will be installed at registers, customer service desks and pharmacies.
“We have installed and tested the plexiglass and have decided to expand this effort companywide,” said spokeswoman Maria Brous in an email to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. “Installations will begin this weekend, and we expect to be completed within the next two weeks.”
Publix says all 1,200 locations will have the plexiglass installed within the next two weeks. In a statement released Monday, the company said an employee working at a store in Cumming, Georgia, which is just north of Atlanta, tested positive for COVID-19.
While speaking with Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, employees said the company would not allow them to wear face masks or gloves, and expressed fear of missing work, or worse.
Currently, only full-time employees get paid sick leave at Publix. A recent article in the New York Times found that there’s an estimated 89,000 Publix employees currently without paid sick leave.
Publix reported higher earnings than Nike in 2018.
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This article appears in Mar 19-26, 2020.
