Burger King and Popeyes will take workers' temperatures and offer bonuses amid coronavirus outbreak

The chains, which are owned by Restaurant Brands International, will begin using thermometers to take employees' temperatures and make sure they are healthy when they arrive at work.
Restaurant Brands International also announced that Burger King and Popeyes will give 14 days of paid sick leave to workers who are employed at company-owned locations and who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or asked to self-isolate.
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Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons, is rolling out new worker benefits and safety policies amid the coronavirus outbreak.

On Monday, the company announced that employees at company-owned Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons locations will receive a special bonus in April for working during the coronavirus pandemic.

Burger King and Popeyes workers at company-owned stores now have paid sick leave for up to 14 days in coronavirus-related cases. In Canada, the company has established an employee support fund to allow Tim Hortons employees who work at company-owned stores and have been affected by COVID-19 to stay home.

Restaurant Brands International is in the process of sending 15,000 infrared thermometers to all Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes restaurants, intended to confirm that team members are healthy as they arrive for shifts.

Workers who have a temperature of over 100.3 degrees will be sent home to get tested, a representative told Business Insider. Employees at company-owned stores will be able to access paid sick leave as part of the new policy.

"We have also encouraged our restaurant owners to use this difficult time to invest in their team members for the long term and have been heartened to see so many do so," Restaurant Brands International CEO Jos Cil said in an open letter on Monday.

The company has also rolled out new social distancing procedures, debuted new cleaning and sanitizing measures, and made hand sanitizer available for crew members and customers.

"We have the ability to help feed America," Cil told Business Insider in mid-March.

"The challenge here is that when you're dealing with a circumstance like this, if we don't utilize businesses like Burger King, Tim's and Popeyes ... It's really difficult for Americans to be fed, because it's going to be difficult for them to get all their other food and necessities from the supermarket," Cil continued.

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