Local construction company offers $500 to employees who get vaccine
May 6, 2021, 1:22 PM

Seattle's Lumen Field vaccination site.
A construction company in Fife is giving its workers $500 to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
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Justin Watts, a project manager with the company says they only have about 20-25 employees. He points out that smaller companies could be especially vulnerable to COVID-19 outbreaks, which would take out a significant portion of their workforce.
For that reason, he thinks vaccine incentives are a smart idea.
“The bottom line I guess for business owners is really what it comes down typically,” he said. “So I would say the more money you’re going to save overall in the long game, you’re going to have a better chance of smooth operations and not having people out.”
“I think someone on the fence should look at the bottom line of if people are sick and out or if there’s an issue where somebody does get COVID, it’s a lot more dramatic than doing it up front,” he added.
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Watts says since the owner made the offer at least three people have decided to go in for their shots.
“I think the majority of us were surprised considering it’s such a smaller company compared to some of the other, bigger general contractors in this area,” Watts said about the incentive.