The Red Tab Foundation helps provide assistance to Levi Strauss & Co. employees and retirees in need.

The Red Tab Foundation provides short-term financial hardship assistance to employees and retirees throughout the world. Assistance is need-based and typically provided following a recent, unexpected financial emergency that threatens their ability to provide basic necessities of life.

The Red Tab Foundation’s retiree program, which assists more than a thousand LS&Co. retirees and their spouses living on modest fixed incomes, provides basic necessities to those who cannot afford them. Eyeglasses, hearing aids, and dentures are common retiree requests.

How It Works

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    Am I eligible for help?

    Eligible persons include any individual who is paid by LS&Co. and has a direct employer – employee relationship, LS&Co. retirees, spouses and surviving spouses of retirees, and former employees with 20 or more years of service (10 years in select countries).

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    How do I qualify for help?

    To qualify for assistance, employees must: (a) experience a qualifying emergency, (b) demonstrate financial need, and (c) have explored alternative sources of support. Once the Red Tab Foundation receives a complete application, a decision is usually made within two business days.

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    What help will I receive?

    The Red Tab Foundation can provide a maximum of USD $7,500 towards basic living expenses in a qualifying emergency. In rare circumstances, aid exceeding USD $7,500 can be provided upon approval from the Board of Directors.

Apply for Help

Qualifying Emergencies 

Financial assistance may be provided following critical, unexpected events, such as:

  • Major illness or injury (the employee, spouse/domestic partner, or dependent)

  • Death (the employee, spouse/domestic partner, or dependent)

  • Natural disaster or catastrophe (e.g. tornado, flood, fire, etc.)

  • Involuntary job loss (spouse/domestic partner)

  • Domestic violence (emergency relocation)

Our Colleague Kiet

Location: Cambodia

“I am so grateful to the Red Tab Foundation for your enthusiastic support which helped me through my emergency case. I am very happy to be a member of the LS&Co. family.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Coverage

    • Past due rent/mortgage

    • Past due utilities (e.g. gas, water, electricity)

    • Past due car payment

    • Groceries

    • Essential funeral expenses

    • Temporary shelter/moving expenses (in cases such as escaping domestic violence or an employee’s home being severely damaged from fire or natural disaster)

    • Clothing (in cases where an employee has suffered a loss of clothing, such as a fire or natural disaster)

    • Uninsured home repairs due to natural disaster or fire

    • Critical medical treatment that is being withheld due to lack of funds or insurance coverage

  • The Red Tab Foundation may provide assistance for modest funeral/burial services not covered by life insurance. We may also provide money to assist with short term living expenses if the deceased was a household wage earner.

  • Following a small scale natural disaster or catastrophe, the Red Tab Foundation can provide money for essential repairs to render the home inhabitable and help replace essential items such as clothing, food, medicine, appliances, beds and cookware. If the home has been completely destroyed, the Red Tab Foundation can provide money to assist with relocation expenses (temporary housing, deposit/first month rent, deposits on utilities, etc).

  • Aid for a wide scale disaster or catastrophe affecting dozens or hundreds of employees is based on financial need and handled in concert with government, community and company policies and practices.

  • In the United States, emergency assistance IS NOT taxable. However, assistance may be taxable outside the United States. If it is determined that the assistance is taxable, we will provide the employee with additional funds to pay the estimated tax. It then becomes the employee’s responsibility to report the financial aid and pay the required tax.

  • No. The Red Tab Foundation is for employees who have no other sources of support, which includes friends and family.

  • Aid for long term treatments is reviewed case-by-case, based on financial need. We also take into consideration any applicable government, community and LS&Co. benefits practices.

Applying for help

  • Outside the United States, LS&Co. managers or HR partners act as a conduit between the applicant and the Red Tab Foundation. LS&Co. managers or HR partners are asked to facilitate the process, collect information, and make a recommendation on how much to provide the employee in need. All final decisions are made by the Red Tab Foundation.

  • Once the Red Tab Foundation receives a complete application, a decision is usually made within two business days. However, processing time may be extended in cases where we are missing documentation, signatures, etc.

Qualifying for help

  • The Red Tab Foundation considers anyone for which the employee is 100% financial responsible as eligible dependents. Parents, grandparents, or other relatives are not considered dependents unless the employee can show they are 100% dependent.

  • If there are local community, government, or NGO resources available that can quickly and sufficiently address the employee’s needs, the employee and manager or HR partner should make every effort to pursue those resources before applying for Red Tab Foundation assistance.

    If an employee obtains partial assistance from an alternative resource they may apply to the Red Tab Foundation for supplementary aid. For example, if an employee loses their home in a flood and a local agency is available to provide food and clothing, but not temporary housing or moving expenses, the Red Tab Foundation can provide supplementary assistance to assist with those costs.

  • If you do not meet the Red Tab Foundation’s eligibility criteria, every effort will be made to refer you to an alternative resource(s) for assistance.

  • The Red Tab Foundation does NOT provide assistance for the following: (Note, list is not comprehensive)

    • Adoption

    • Legal/Court fees

    • Fines, penalties, bail

    • Back taxes

    • Wage garnishments

    • Credit card bills

    • Debt consolidation loans

    • Personal loans / Payday or auto title loans

    • Immigration fees

    • Moving expenses and home repairs (except in cases of fire or natural disaster)

    • School loans, tuition, supplies

    • Routine medical expenses

    • Parking tickets

    • Divorce, spousal abandonment, and child custody disputes

    • Car maintenance, registration, and loans

  • The assistance provided by the Red Tab Foundation is need-based so income is an important factor. However, household income is only one of a number of factors used to determine eligibility.

  • Yes. LS&Co. employees are eligible to apply for Red Tab Foundation assistance whether they are active or on a company approved leave of absence.