This Is the Seriously Awesome Way T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods Are Helping Their Employees in Puerto Rico
Parts of the United States and the Caribbean experienced devastating damage and numerous deaths when hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria made landfall in quick succession. The latter left US territory Puerto Rico without electricity or adequate food and water, and six weeks later, a majority of the homes and businesses remain shuttered without power, including retail stores TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods. They haven’t let the burden of the crisis fall on their employees, however, continuing to pay island workers despite the fact that the stores remain closed.
According to the Boston Globe, a post shared in a Boston-based #PuertoRicoStrong Facebook group praised the company’s efforts, with San Juan native and current Florida resident, Iván Meléndez, revealing that his son in San Juan was still receiving a paycheck from the Marshalls store where he works.
“I have to mention this because maybe many do not know,” the post stated in Spanish. “Marshalls stores in Puerto Rico have continued to pay their employees even without running their stores. I was worried about my son, and he told me, ‘Quiet Daddy, Marshalls has been paying us.’ And [the company] has also given them supplies. Thanks to the Marshalls stores for such an honorable gesture. From now on I am going to sponsor this chain even more.”
The company confirmed Meléndez’s Facebook comments. “Based on the devastating situation in Puerto Rico, we can confirm that we have continued to pay our TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods associates on the island,” Erika Tower, a spokesperson for the stores’ parent company, TJX, told the
Globe
. “We believe it is the right thing for us to do under these circumstances.”
Tower also noted that it’s a practice the company employs “from time to time under extreme circumstances” in other areas affected by natural disasters.
Kudos to the TJX company — the world could certainly use a few more of its kind!
Were you surprised to learn that the TJX company is still paying employees who work at stores that are closed? Let us know @BritandCo.
(Photos via Joe Raedle + Paul Morigi/Getty)
