These 12 Companies Are Actually Paying More During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The ongoing pandemic has thrown a big wrench into our economy. Many companies have had to close temporarily or permanently. Many workers have lost their jobs and incomes temporarily or permanently. The future remains more uncertain than ever, as the pandemic is far from behind us.

Amid all this, some companies have been offering their workers more. I recently detailed 40 companies that have raised wages due to the coronavirus, and am now revisiting some of those, along with others, that have been offering workers more.

The information is correct as of the time of writing, but some companies may well have announced changes by the time you're reading this. So if you're particularly interested in any specific companies, you might want to look up their latest news.

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There's a good chance that some of the spices in your spice rack bear the McCormick name. The company, recently sporting a market value near $23 billion, announced in March that it would boost its hourly workers' pay by $2 per hour, along with extending paid leave to permit them to care for sick loved ones. More recently, it announced that it's extending that pay hike through the end of June for its essential workers. It also announced that it will offer full pay to its workers for up to 12 weeks, should the plants they work at have to close temporarily.

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Mega retailer Walmart is another company extending the wage hike it instituted earlier. Over the past weeks and months it has hired 200,000 or more additional workers and it announced a boost in its minimum wage of $2 per hour (to between $15 and $19) through Memorial Day -- along with a $300 bonus for hourly full-timers and a $150 bonus for hourly part-timers. With the wage bump expiring, the company announced another round of bonuses, of $300 for full-timers and $150 to part-timers.

One of Walmart's chief rivals is Target, and it, too, has extended its extra pay -- significantly. The company, boasting more than 1,800 stores, has said that it will extend the boosting of its hourly frontline workers' pay by $2 per hour -- through July 4. On top of that, it's continuing some other pandemic-related benefits, such as a 30-day paid leave for older workers and those with certain health concerns.

Supermarket giant Kroger had paid its hourly frontline workers an extra $2 per hour, calling it a "hero bonus," while also paying a one-time bonus of $300 or $150, but it has ended that now. It is now paying those workers a "Thank You" bonus of $400 or $200, respectively, to qualifying full-time or part-time workers. Kroger is also continuing a coronavirus-related emergency leave policy, offering paid time off for many workers who are sick or caring for others.

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Michigan-based retailer Meijer is privately held and sports about 245 locations. Along with most grocery chains, it offered its frontline workers a $2-per-hour bonus wage, along with some other benefits, such as paid leave for those with the virus and financial assistance for some COVID-19-related expenses. The company has extended its bonus pay through June 20, at least.

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If you don't live in Texas (or parts of Mexico), you may not be familiar with the supermarket chain H-E-B, which boasts more than 400 stores and more than 120 workers. It has been praised for a strong and early response to the COVID-19 crisis, and the company instituted a $2-per-hour wage hike for its frontline workers as well. It has extended that pay through June 21, and will also be accelerating merit-based pay increases for those workers.

Tractor Supply Co., the retailer focused on the needs of rural consumers with more than 1,800 stores and more than 33,000 workers, boosted its hourly workers' pay by $2 per hour earlier this year -- and has now extended that through June 27. It will follow that with a permanent hourly wage increase of at least $1 beginning on June 28. It's also paying its managers bonuses of $1,000.

Cable giant Charter Communications, the company behind Spectrum cable TV and internet, has responded to the COVID-19 crisis not with a temporary wage hike, but a permanent one -- from $15 per hour to $20 -- though the increase will take two years to be fully implemented. (The company started with a $1.50-per-hour hike.) It also announced that beginning on April 20 and for at least 60 days, it would not lay off any workers. A permanent wage hike is especially meaningful, as it may help more workers be able to save for retirement and tackle other financial goals.

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Home improvement and home building mega chain Home Depot has a host of pandemic-related benefits for its workers, including weekly bonuses of $100 for full-time hourly workers and $50 for part-time hourly workers. Along with that, those folks get, respectively, 80 or 40 hours of paid time off that they can use as needed in 2020 -- or get the cash value of, if they don't use it. Workers 65 years old or older get three times as much paid time off. There are other benefits as well, such as double pay for overtime work.

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Grocery chain Trader Joe's, with more than 500 stores in 42 states and the District of Columbia, has been paying its hourly front-line workers an extra $2 per hour as a "thank you" wage since March 2, and an end date for that doesn't seem to have been announced. It's also offering up to two weeks of paid sick time to workers and helping more of them qualify for health insurance.

With more than 510 locations in 41 states, Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores has long been serving truck drivers and other travelers with food, fuel, and more. It employs more than 26,000 people, and has offered them a bunch of extra benefits during the pandemic. These include free meals for staffers through May, a $200 bonus for those who work through June, a $2-per-hour increase to end on June 2, and COVID-19-related sick pay that's available through the end of July.

Supermarket chain Stop & Shop features more than 400 stores and roughly 56,000 workers. The company had boosted the pay of its hourly store workers by 10% beginning March, and it's now extending that pay to July 4.

Selena Maranjian has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Home Depot and Tractor Supply. The Motley Fool recommends McCormick and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $120 calls on Home Depot and short January 2021 $210 calls on Home Depot. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.