This article originally appeared on People.com.
TJX—the parent company of TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Homegoods—is still paying their employees in Puerto Rico, despite the fact that their stores remain closed due to damage from Hurricane Maria, PEOPLE can confirm.
“Based on the devastating situation in Puerto Rico, we can confirm that we have continued to pay our TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods Associates on the island,” a spokesperson for TJX said in a statement to PEOPLE. “We believe it is the right thing for us to do under these circumstances.”
The Boston Globe reported that there are 29 stores owned by the Massachusetts-based TJX in Puerto Rico, although they added that TJX did not comment on how many of those stores remain closed.
WSVN also reported that a Facebook post written about TJX’s decision to continue paying its employees has gone viral. In the post, which is written in Spanish, Iván Meléndez — who says he is a father of a Marshalls employee in Puerto Rico — thanked the company for continuing to send paychecks to his son.
So far, Hurricane Maria — which ravaged the U.S. territory Sept. 20, leaving the entire island without electricity and destroying many homes — has claimed at least 55 lives in Puerto Rico. Yet, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz told CNN that the death toll could actually be much higher.
