Kroger says it won't force employees to repay extra 'Emergency Pay,' after sending some workers letters that demanded refunds

• Kroger said some employees were overpaid "Emergency Pay," which covers workers' wages during leave under new coronavirus policies.
• Kroger sent letters to workers who were overpaid demanding repayment of the funds, or face "further collection efforts."
• The company told Business Insider on Tuesday that it will not seek repayment of the funds.

Kroger confirmed Tuesday that it sent letters to some workers demanding repayment of "Emergency Pay," which covers workers' wages for up to two weeks of leave under the company's new coronavirus policies.

The letters said workers were overpaid, and failure to repay the funds would "result in further collection efforts."

When reached by Business Insider, a Kroger spokesperson said the overpayments were "an unfortunate payroll accounting error," and that it would not seek repayment from employees who were impacted.

"We've since instructed our payroll department to directly inform the small number of associates affected by the recent overpayments of COVID-19 Emergency Leave pay that we will not seek repayment," the spokesperson said.

A copy of one of the letters, which sought repayment of $461.60, sparked a backlash online after it was shared widely on Twitter late Monday.

Some people responded on Twitter saying they would boycott Kroger, and one person called it "breathtakingly evil."

Kroger has also come under pressure for ending its "hero bonus," a $2 hourly pay bump related to the pandemic.

While Kroger is ending its "hero" pay bump, the company recently announced a new round of one-time bonus payments of $200 for part-time workers and $400 for full-time workers.