A 2020 grievance action that led to a class action lawsuit has resulted in the end of a Safeway policy that denied sick leave payments to “Extra” meat cutters who are assigned out of the union’s dispatch department to work at stores on a daily basis.

Settlement negotiations resulted in nearly $90,000 in payments to hundreds of meat cutters who worked at Safeway between 2018 and 2021. They will receive payouts of between $25 and $1665 depending on hours worked during the measuring period. Safeway has also agreed to a new procedure that will expedite the ability of Extra meat cutters to request and receive sick leave pay.

The payment formula is as follows:

0 to 99 hours: $25

100 to 399 hours: $555

400 to 599 hours: $1110

More than 600 hours: $1665

While the settlement only impacts meat cutters who worked at Safeway, other companies that employed the same policy may also be liable, says Local 5 Area Director Mike Frenna.