Target raises minimum wage to $15 an hour

(From Target)

At Target, our team is our most important asset. Our team members play the leading role in driving Target’s commitment to our guests and communities. And that’s why we’re continuously investing in them—including permanently raising our starting wage to $15 beginning July 5th.

On top of that, we’re giving front-line team members in our stores and distribution centers a one-time recognition bonus of $200 to thank them for providing essential services to our guests throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

With the changes announced today, Target will invest nearly $1 billion more this year in the well-being, health and safety of team members than it did in 2019, including increased wages, paid leaves, bonus payouts, personal protective equipment, and a donation to the Target Team Member Giving Fund. 

“In the best of times, our team brings incredible energy and empathy to our work, and in harder times they bring those qualities plus extraordinary resilience and agility to keep Target on the forefront of meeting the changing needs of our guests and our business year after year,” said Brian Cornell, Chairman and CEO of Target Corporation. “Everything we aspire to do and be as a company builds on the central role our team members play in our strategy, their dedication to our purpose and the connection they create with our guests and communities.”

Reaching $15 permanent starting wage—and recognizing our teams’ efforts during the pandemic
The wage increase builds on Target’s history of investing in team member pay and benefits. The journey began in September 2017, with our commitment to reach $15 by the end of 2020. Over the past three years, we’ve increased wages in one-dollar increments from a starting pay of $11.

Meanwhile, the one-time $200 recognition bonus will be distributed at the end of July to eligible full-time and part-time hourly team members at both stores and distribution centers. It’s on top of bonuses of $250 to $1,500 paid out in April to 20,000 hourly store team leads who oversee individual departments in Target stores.

Target has also worked to meet team members’ needs amid the coronavirus pandemic, with a $2 temporary wage increase in March 2020, which was extended twice.

Free virtual healthcare visits for all

To support the health and safety of team members during a stressful year for the country, this week Target will also offer free access to health care through virtual doctor visits, regardless of whether team members currently subscribe to a Target health care plan. 

This builds on a number of benefits we’ve provided our team throughout the pandemic, which are now being extended, including a 30-day paid leave for vulnerable team members susceptible to the coronavirus, and free backup care for family members. 

Additional team member benefits include the continued waiving of our absenteeism policy and paid leave options for team members who are symptomatic, have a confirmed case of coronavirus, or have been quarantined due to exposure. 

And, with the strains both of COVID-19 and social unrest, we will continue to support team members’ mental health by offering free counseling sessions, along with new anxiety and sleep resources that have been made available to all team members.

“The most important investments we make are in our team. I have tremendous gratitude for the way our team members show up with such purpose and pride for our guests, communities and one another,” said Melissa Kremer, Target’s Chief Human Resources Officer.

“These investments help ensure that team members can build meaningful careers, take care of themselves and their families, and contribute to building our communities through their work inside and outside of Target.”