Hobby Lobby Employees Get Their Lost Wages Back After Retailer Reports Record Sales

Arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby, which initially resisted closing amid the coronavirus pandemic, reportedly plans to pay employees retroactively for wages lost as the result of a 10% pay cut.

Hobby Lobby issued the pay cuts in April and May after stores were forced to close because of the COVID-19 crisis, Business Insider reported. The company faced pressure from state officials to close its doors during stay-at-home orders after Hobby Lobby founder and CEO David Green deemed the stores essential.

Hobby Lobby was forced to close in some states by police after Green faced criticism for sending a letter to employees saying that his wife, Barbara Green, received a message from God to stay open, which was posted on Twitter.

In a new letter to employees obtained by the news outlet, Green said that the company is looking to give back the pay lost “on a go forward basis” after stores that reopened reported record sales for May and June.

Green continued in the letter, “While we were in the earliest days of the shut down it was unclear what the performance of our company would be for 2020. Fortunately, our customers are loyal and we were missed.

“You are receiving this letter because previously you had your salary reduced by 10%. We were recently able to restore your pay to the full amount on a go forward basis. I am now pleased to inform you that on June 15 Hobby Lobby will process a payment to you in order to reimburse you for the 10% reduction of your pay during the months of April and May. We thank God for his promise to guide and guard us during this period.”

Hobby Lobby furloughed the majority of its employees in March while cutting the wages of its salary employees around the same time. Green has said in a previous letter that the company may have to “tighten our belts over the near future” because of the coronavirus.