Raytheon Giving Employees Bonuses for Getting COVID-19 Vaccine

Updated at 11:45 a.m. on April 8 to include comments from Aerojet Rocketdyne, Northrop Grumman and Boeing.

Raytheon Technologies is offering employees financial bonuses if they get a COVID-19 vaccine, the company’s top executive said Wednesday.

The move is part of the company’s efforts to vaccinate at least 80 percent of its 180,000-plus employees.

“We have highly encouraged all of our employees to get vaccinated,” Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes said during a virtual Economic Club of Washington event on Wednesday. “In fact, there is a small financial reward that people get for getting vaccinated.”

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine earns employees points within a corporate wellness program that also rewards things like receiving an annual medical physical, getting a flu shot, exercising, or giving up smoking, according to a company spokesman. After getting a specific number of points, the employee earns a $200 cash bonus.

Raytheon is not alone in offering employees a bonus for getting vaccinated. Aerojet Rocketdyne is offering its employees $50 for getting vaccinated, a company spokesman said.

While other companies aren't offering cash bonuses, they are offering other incentives and encouraging employees to get vaccinated.

“[W]e are encouraging our employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine at their earliest opportunity and providing paid time off as needed for eligible employees to accommodate vaccine appointments,” a BAE Systems spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

Northrop Grumman is encouraging employees to get vaccinated, a company spokesman said. In addition, Boeing is “encouraging employees to learn about the vaccines, consult with their health care providers as appropriate, monitor the public health information in their community for vaccination opportunities, and take the earliest opportunity to get vaccinated," a spokesman said in an email.

“[W]e are encouraging our employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine at their earliest opportunity and providing paid time off as needed for eligible employees to accommodate vaccine appointments,” a BAE Systems spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

L3Harris Technologies is encouraging its employees “to track their COVID-19 vaccine eligibility and options to receive it regardless of where on the globe they work,” a company spokeswoman said. “We are also partnering with local providers to ease vaccination access for those eligible employees who prefer this option.”

While Raytheon is not requiring employees to get vaccinated, not getting one could prevent some from entering a company facility.

“If someone chooses ultimately for religious reasons or medical reasons not to get vaccinated, we're going to have to respect that,” Hayes said. “But we're also going to have to make sure we can keep the rest of the employees...safe. So that may mean...someone that's not vaccinated is never coming back to the office.”

Some of the company’s customers are requiring any Raytheon employees to be vaccinated before entering their facilities, Hayes said.

“Those people will have to become vaccinated if they want to continue their jobs,” he said.