Major retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and CVS turned record profits but didn't pay employees much extra for working during the pandemic, a new report finds

• A new report by The Brookings Institute, a nonprofit public policy organization, compared high profits at some of the nation's top retailers to the wages frontline workers took home in COVID-19 hazard bonuses.
• A hazard bonus is additional compensation workers receive for performing hazardous duty or work involving physical hardship, in this case, working during the pandemic.
• The researchers behind the report argue that companies like Walmart, Amazon, CVS, and Dollar General, could have paid their frontline workers significantly more in COVID-19 hazard pay while still seeing record profits.
• Spokespeople from these companies told Business Insider that the report doesn't paint a comprehensive picture of additional benefits workers received, like help with childcare or increased paid sick leave.
• An Amazon spokesperson noted the company offers higher starting wages than some of its competitors ($15) and provides benefits from an employee's first day, unlike other retailers.

Amazon, Walmart, Dollar General, and CVS, all saw booming profits during the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, these companies barely increased wages for frontline workers.

That's according to a new report by The Brookings Institute, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC.

The institute examined the hazard pay bonuses offered to employees at 13 of the largest retailers according to the National Retail Federation. Hazard pay is additional compensation for performing hazardous duty or work involving physical hardship, in this case, working during the pandemic. Researchers then looked at the profits the company made over the past two or three business quarters.

The fact that these companies saw such high profits, yet increased their workers' pay by less than a dollar per hour, "highlights the limitations of capitalism and voluntary corporate action," the report's authors wrote.

The report ranked the retailers based on several factors including the company's worker-bonus-to-company-profit ratio, the starting wage for an entry-level position, as well as the number of days hazard payment was given to workers.

Companies that did a "good" job of compensating frontline workers include Best Buy, Target, and Home Depot. These companies offered significant hazard pay raises, ranging from an additional $2.22 to an additional $3.07 per hour.

Others, like Walmart, and Amazon, were rated less favorably.

Walmart, for example, gave frontline workers what amounted to an additional average of $0.63 per hour in COVID-19 hazard pay from March through November. According to researchers, the company earned "more than four times the amount the company spent on COVID-19 bonuses for frontline workers."

A Walmart spokesperson said the company offered increased paid time off options for associates and pointed out other measures the company has taken to support employees.

Amazon provided what amounted to an average $.95 per hour raise to frontline employees' pay from March through November. Yet, researchers wrote, the company could have quadrupled the hazard pay "and still earned more profit than the previous year."

Rachael Lighty, an Amazon spokesperson, called the study "flawed," saying it doesn't provide an "accurate picture of wages, benefits and career opportunities that exist for employees at Amazon."

"More than two years ago, we increased our starting wage to at least $15 per hour, more in some places, which is nearly twice the Federal minimum wage," she said in part. "Unlike many of those cited in the study, Amazon offers full-time jobs with benefits starting on the first day of employment."

CVS and Dollar General also ranked low on the list, with Dollar General ranking the worst. CVS provided an additional $.21 per hour, and Dollar General gave an additional $0.23 per hour. At CVS, the starting wage is $11, and at Dollar General, it's $8, according to the report.

A spokesperson for Dollar General noted that the company plans to award approximately $50 million in additional appreciation bonuses to eligible frontline employees in the fourth quarter of 2020, bringing the total planned amount of bonuses to front line employees to $173 million during the 2020 fiscal year.

A CVS spokesperson highlighted that in addition to hazard pay, the company also gave some 3,000 employees grants of up to $1,000 through its Employee Relief Fund to cover emergency needs. More than 15,000 employees also took advantage of CVS's temporary dependent care assistance program, which offered employees up to 25 days of fully covered backup child and elder care.