Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison.

Lowe’s and Home Depot have taken action in response to COVID-19 by adjusting hours and supporting the needs of their associates, customers and surrounding communities.

Their full statements below:

Lowe’s
Over the past several weeks, more than 300,000 Lowe’s associates have worked around the clock to ensure our customers, first responders and government officials have access to the essential products they need to keep their families safe, their businesses running and their communities healthy through this unprecedented time.

(Today), I wanted to share the first of many actions we are taking at Lowe’s in the spirit of doing-it-together in response to COVID-19 in the U.S.:

We are committing $25 million to support the emerging needs of our associates, customers and communities. This includes a $10 million donation in essential protective products to do our part in helping to keep medical professionals on the frontlines of this crisis healthy and safe. We deeply appreciate their actions and commitment. These funds will also support our Employee Relief Fund and offer small business relief for our Pros. Read more about our commitment here.

We are taking additional steps to protect the health and well-being of our associates. We rolled out 14-days of emergency paid leave for our associates that need it, whether that’s because they are feeling sick, caring for a loved one, or because they have been faced with new hardships such as closed schools and daycares. We have also extended our telemedicine benefit through Teladoc to all associates and their families whether they are seasonal, temporary, part-time or full-time, regardless if they are enrolled in Lowe’s medical plan.

We are temporarily reducing hours and closing all stores at 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, effective Monday, March 23. This will provide additional time for essential product replenishment and to thoroughly clean and sanitize our stores daily. In addition to our enhanced cleaning efforts across the store, we’ve taken increasing measures to ensure our cashiers and front end teams are regularly cleaning their work areas and registers after each customer interaction.

To the medical professionals on the frontlines and the parents at home faced with homeschooling their children, to the truck drivers and supply chain workers ensuring product is on shelves, and to the team at Lowe’s, your actions have been nothing short of heroic.

You have my commitment that Lowe’s will continue to do our part to serve you as we work together to overcome these trying times.

God Bless,

Marvin Ellison

Lowe’s President and CEO

Home Depot:

As the situation around the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to develop, our paramount concern has been for the health and safety of our customers and associates.

Several weeks ago, The Home Depot established a task force led by our Medical Health Management team to plan for the potential impacts of COVID-19. While this is not an exhaustive list, here are some of the precautions we’re taking across our business.

Store Hours:
We’re temporarily adjusting store hours to better serve customers and communities in response to COVID-19. Our stores will now close daily at 6:00 p.m., while opening hours will remain unchanged.

As an essential retailer to the communities we serve, we’re committed to keeping stores open just as we always do during times of crisis and natural disaster. Homeowners and businesses depend on us for urgent needs such as hot water heaters, refrigerators, cleaning supplies, electrical and plumbing repairs, and harsh weather items like tarps, propane and batteries.

The adjusted hours will give stores the ability to staff appropriately and provide additional time to restock shelves and perform cleaning. As part of our normal practice, our stores and other facilities are cleaned and sanitized daily. Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we’re increasing the frequency of cleaning and general hygiene maintenance in stores and other locations. We’re also stepping up our efforts to disinfect high-traffic and high-touch areas like self-checkout, door handles, and bathrooms, as well as posting signage about handwashing and other preventative actions.

Our Associates:
We’re expanding our paid time off policy to address the needs of hourly associates to help alleviate some of the challenges they may be facing as a result of COVID-19. Starting this week, all hourly full-time associates will receive an additional 80 hours of paid sick or personal time, and part-time hourly associates will receive an additional 40 hours of paid sick or personal time. These hours can be taken anytime from now until the end of the year.

If associates are diagnosed with COVID-19 or advised by health or government officials to self-quarantine due to direct COVID-19 exposure, they’ll continue to be paid during that time. And as always, we’re encouraging associates who are sick to stay home.

The Home Depot provides a number of benefits to support our associates during this time, including backup dependent care, teledoc services, and emotional wellbeing/care solutions. We’ve also updated our travel policies for associates, following the U.S. Department of State and CDC’s guidance on international and domestic travel.

Product:
As many items across our store are in high demand, our merchants and supply chain teams are prioritizing replenishment and restocking as quickly as possible.

We’re seeing an increased demand for face masks, hand sanitizers and other cleaning supplies in our stores and online. To best serve as many customers as possible, we’ve implemented a purchase limit of 10 face masks per person.

Events:
We have temporarily postponed or cancelled several large external and internal gatherings that would have been held in our stores, office locations and off-site venues. For example, we have temporarily paused our in-store Workshops, which are often attended by well over 100 people at a time.

Deliveries & In-Home Service:
If customers have an installation or other in-home service scheduled and want to postpone to a later date, we’ll be happy to reschedule. We’ve advised all delivery and Home Services associates to follow everyday preventive actions including washing hands often, disinfecting frequently touched objects, and carrying hand sanitizer.

If you have questions about a delivery, online order or other customer concern, please visit our Help and Customer Service Center.

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on March 12, 2020 and has been updated with the latest company information on March 18, 2020.