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- Hobby Lobby announced on Monday that is will increase its minimum full-time hourly wage to $17 beginning October 1.
- Hobby Lobby CEO David Green called the company a “retail leader when it comes to taking care of our people,” citing the company’s policy of closing stores on Sunday to “provide time for rest, family and worship.”
- The increased wage comes on the heels of boycott threats against the company in response to a viral photo on Twitter of a display of decorative letters arranged to read “USA Vote Trump” at a Hobby Lobby store.
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Hobby Lobby is increasing its minimum wage.
The arts-and-crafts chain announced on Monday that it will bump its minimum full-time hourly wage to $17 beginning October 1. According to a Hobby Lobby press release, the company was among the first retailers to institute an hourly rate higher than the federal minimum wage back in 2009 and has since increased its wages a total of ten times.
The company also said in the release it bumped its rates to $15 in 2014 “before it became fashionable with other retailers.” Though the federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, there has been a widespread push in recent years among both individual states and companies to increase rates to $15.
“Because this year has presented so many challenges to our employees, we are very happy that we are able to provide pay increases to thousands of our associates before the Christmas season,” Hobby Lobby CEO and founder David Green said in a statement.
Green further called the company a “retail leader when it comes to taking care of our people,” citing the company’s policy of closing stores on Sunday to “provide time for rest, family and worship.”
"These investments allow Hobby Lobby to attract and retain a great group of associates who in turn help provide the wonderfully unique shopping experience enjoyed by our many loyal customers," Green said.
The increased wage comes on the heels of boycott threats against the company last week in response to a viral photo on Twitter of a display of decorative letters arranged to read "USA Vote Trump" at a Hobby Lobby store. The photo sparked a flurry of outcry on social media, where users began collectively using the hashtag #BoycottHobbyLobby
The image was posted by Kari Brekke, who told Business Insider last week that she did not take the photo and instead repurposed it from a public post shared in a Facebook group for the Lincoln Project, an organization of Republicans dedicated to preventing President Donald Trump's reelection.
Brekke said she did not know from which store it was taken, and some Twitter users pointed out that a customer could have rearranged the letters, rather than a store employee.
"I'm not a fan of Hobby Lobby. I would never shop there," Brekke told Business Insider. "I'm a Democrat. I hate the company."
The wage change also comes after Hobby Lobby slashed salaries and denied employees paid sick leave early in the coronavirus outbreak. In June, the company announced it would retroactively reimburse staffers for lost wages in March and April following a period of "record sales" in May and June.