Walmart and Sam’s Club will require their approximately 1.5 million U.S.-based associates to wear masks or other face coverings beginning on Monday, according to a memo sent by the CEOs of Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club, a Walmart division.
The retailers will also encourage customers to wear face coverings, according to the memo, which is dated Friday. Walmart is the largest private employer in the United States.
The memo was sent by John Furner of Walmart and Kath McLay of Sam’s Club to associates in the United States, and comes as an increasing number of states and cities, including New York, are mandating that residents wear masks in public settings.
On the federal level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this month that it also recommends that Americans wear cloth face coverings in places where social distancing is difficult, including grocery stores.
“We have evolved our policy on face coverings from optional to mandatory as public health guidance has shifted,” Furner and McLay wrote.
They wrote that employees could bring their own face covering or use one provided by the company. The company will also extend its emergency leave policy through the end of May, the two executives wrote.
The new move comes as Walmart’s leadership wrestles with the company’s handling of a public health crisis that has caused demand to skyrocket while threatening the health of its employees and customers.
