#&pizza restaurant chain offers paid time off for activism amid George Floyd protests #LivingNews

Pizza chain &pizza is offering its employees paid time off for activism following the death of George Floyd last week.

The fast-casual restaurant announced the news on Sunday.

“For those in this pain. For those in this fight. We stand with the Black Community against racial hate and injustice,” &pizza tweeted. “In memory of George Floyd & in UNITY always. From this day forward, @andpizza will be giving its employees paid time off for activism.”’

Though a spokesperson was not immediately available to offer further comment on the new policy, a representative told Food & Wine that the additional days off will be added to the paid time off (PTO) that employees already receive.

The custom-pie restaurant chain, based in Washington, D.C., employs about 700 people across 40 locations in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. The new time-off policy will empower employees “to participate in activism of their choosing starting this week and moving forward,” the spokesperson said.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, &pizza has delivered over 44,000 free pizzas to hospital workers, Fast Casual reports.

Floyd died on May 25 after he was pinned to the pavement by a white police officer in Minneapolis, who put his knee on the handcuffed black man’s neck until he stopped breathing. His death has since sparked protests across America.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.