Kroger, Blasted for Ending Hazard Pay, Gave CEO $22 Million

  • McMullen’s compensation last year rose almost 6% from 2019
  • The grocery company’s CEO earned 909 times the median worker
Rodney McMullenPhotographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
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Kroger Co. Chief Executive Officer Rodney McMullen found himself in a hailstorm of criticism last spring over hazard pay to frontline workers.

In early 2020, as the coronavirus swept across the U.S., McMullen announced a $2 hourly hazard increase, or “Hero Bonus,” for store and warehouse workers. Two months later, the company ended the raise -- even as critics pointed out that the hazard remained.