LEXINGTON – Lexington City Council members have agreed to provide COVID-19 hazard pay for workers at the municipal liquor store.
City officials say the Lexington liquor store was extremely busy keeping up with demand while bars and restaurants were closed. They say that face-to-face contact with customers put store employees at a higher level of exposure risk to COVID-19 than any other city workers.
The additional hazard pay will be three dollars an hour covering 3 and a half months of work from mid-March through the end of June.
It’s expected to cost the city nearly $15,000.
Proponents point out citizens benefited from their work. From March through April, the city-owned store’s revenues were up 60 percent.
There was one dissenting vote on the council.
