GameStop has vowed to give 80 hours of extra paid time off to employees of closed stores who are eligible for PTO. Those who aren’t will be given two weeks extra pay based on the average hours they’ve worked in the last 10 weeks. This comes after Kotaku received reports that GameStop had informed employees that they would not be compensated while stores were closed, instructing workers to use personal time off or file for unemployment.
The store closures came just days after Kotaku received a copy of a memo that circulated among GameStop management which urged store operators to keep their locations open in the event of coronavirus-related state shutdowns, arguing that the brand offered an essential service to customers during the national emergency.
GameStop explained its stance in a message to customers in the hours after Kotaku’s report:
“While GameStop is best known as a provider of gaming and home entertainment systems, we also offer a wide array of products and devices that are important to facilitate remote work, distance learning, and virtual connectivity,” GameStop wrote on its website. “As millions of Americans face unprecedented challenges adapting to virtual learning, working and interaction, there is significant need for technology solutions and we are one of many providers of these products that are remaining open at this time.”
In the letter to employees announcing the new “delivery at the door” procedure, Sherman sought to reassure store workers that their jobs would not be terminated if they weren’t comfortable coming into work during the health crisis.