COVID-19 Update: How Home Depot is Responding
As the situation around the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to develop, our paramount concern has been for the health and safety of our customers and associates.
The Home Depot is an essential retailer to the communities we serve, and we’re committed to keeping stores open just as we always do during times of crisis and natural disaster. Homeowners and businesses depend on us for urgent needs such as hot water heaters, refrigerators, electrical and plumbing repairs, and harsh weather items like tarps, propane and batteries.
We’ve made several temporary changes to our business as we look out for your safety and the safety of our associates.
Safety Measures:
We’re temporarily adjusting store hours to better serve customers and communities in response to COVID-19. Our stores now close daily at 6 p.m., while opening hours will remain unchanged. The adjusted hours give stores the ability to staff appropriately and provide additional time to perform cleaning and restock shelves.
The Home Depot is promoting social and physical distancing in our stores and distribution centers. Stores are limiting the number of customers inside at any given time. We’re also eliminating major spring promotions to avoid driving high levels of traffic to stores. In addition to training our associates on social distancing, we've placed distancing markers at counters, posted signage throughout the stores and are making overhead announcements on our store PA systems asking customers to maintain safe distances.
We’re also distributing thermometers to associates in stores and distribution centers and asking them to perform health checks before reporting to work.
As part of our normal practice, our stores and other facilities are cleaned and sanitized daily. Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we’ve increased the frequency of cleaning and general hygiene maintenance in stores and other locations. We’ve also stepped up our efforts to disinfect high-traffic and high-touch areas like self-checkout, door handles, and bathrooms, as well as posting signage about handwashing and other preventative actions.
Expanded Benefits for Associates:
We’ve expanded our paid time off policy to address the needs of hourly associates and to help alleviate some of the challenges they may be facing as a result of COVID-19. All hourly full-time associates received an additional 80 hours of paid time off, and part-time hourly associates received an additional 40 hours of paid time off.
For associates who are 65 years of age or older or determined to be at higher risk by the CDC, we’ve added another 80 hours of paid time off for full-time associates and another 40 hours of paid time off for part-time associates. This incremental PTO can be used anytime, for any reason, between now and the end of the year, and will be paid out at year-end if not used.
If associates are diagnosed with COVID-19, we’re providing paid time off until they are released by a doctor to return to work. And we’re providing 14 days of paid time off for any associate required to quarantine by a public health authority or the CDC.
We’ve also implemented a temporary bonus program for all hourly associates working in stores and distribution centers. From March 23 through April 19, hourly associates who work more than 35 hours per week will receive an additional $100 per week, while hourly associates who work 16 to 35 hours per week will receive an additional $50 per week. This bonus program applies to full-time, part-time and seasonal positions, including new associates. We’re also offering double-time pay to hourly associates for overtime hours worked.
Supporting Communities:
Weeks ago, The Home Depot voluntarily froze pricing nationwide across product categories in high demand due to COVID-19. We also executed a “Stop-Sale” on all N95 masks in stores and HomeDepot.com and redirected all shipments to be donated to hospitals, healthcare providers and first responders around the country. In fact, The Home Depot is donating millions of dollars in personal protective equipment (PPE) and other products and prioritizing fulfillment to hospitals, healthcare providers and first responders. We’ve been marshalling the resources of our merchandising and supply chain teams to globally source quality products and expedite the availability of needed items
Deliveries & In-Home Service:
We are limiting services installations to those that are essential for maintenance and repair needs in some markets. If customers have an installation or other in-home service scheduled and want to postpone to a later date, we’ll be happy to reschedule. We've advised all delivery and Home Services associates to follow everyday preventive actions including washing hands often, disinfecting frequently touched objects, and carrying hand sanitizer.
If you have questions about a delivery, online order or other customer concern, please visit our Help and Customer Service Center.
