Kroger is ending certain benefits for unvaccinated workers in order to compel its workforce to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Unvaccinated workers will no longer be eligible to receive up to two weeks of paid emergency sick leave if they get sick with COVID-19 variants. Kroger, the country’s largest grocery chain, employs almost 500,000 employees who interact with as many as 9 million customers daily across the nation. “We are modifying policies to encourage safe behaviors including vaccination, which we continue to incentivize with a $100 payment for all fully vaccinated associates,” said Kristal Howard, Director of Corporate Communications and Media Relations for Kroger in an email to The Epoch Times. Only unvaccinated managers and other non-union employees on the company health plan will face the $50 monthly surcharge. A “$50 monthly surcharge will be implemented on Jan. 1, 2022 and only apply to salaried associates who are unvaccinated and enrolled in a …