You never want to miss a day at work but there are things you just can’t control. For example, your health. Family situations could arise that have to be taken care of right away. It’s hard to be productive at work if your mind, body, and spirit can’t come together and give it 100%. Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, recognizes this.
The company employs 2.2 million people – 1.5 million in the United States alone. Walmart is renowned for its service to customers and relies on its people to consistently maintain its standards every day they are on the job.
But people aren’t machines and in time, they will break down. Like other companies, Walmart has incorporated an employee leave program that allows its people to take time off from work.
If you’re currently employed at Walmart or if you’re thinking of applying for work at the retail giant, here’s everything you need to know about its employee leave benefit program.
Contact Numbers To Report An Absence
Walmart employees can call in to report a leave of absence at any time of day on 800-492-5678 at any time. The Sedgwick automated system will transfer your call to the associate info line if appropriate. This number can be called 24 hours a day 7 days a week unlike other services operated by the chain such as walmart money center hours that are operated in business hours.
Back To Basics – What Is A Leave Of Absence?
A Leave of Absence (LOA) is a benefit that is extended to a Walmart employee who needs to take time off from work because of a justifiable reason.
An employee cannot avail of an LOA unless he undergoes the process and is approved. To be clear, leaves can be paid or unpaid. The status will depend on your reason for taking an LOA.
There are 3 types of LOA:
Personal Leave
Walmart allows employees to take a Personal Leave from work for reasons or situations that are identified in the company’s policy.
Among these reasons include personal or a family member’s health/medical condition; childbirth, placement of foster care, and child adoption; leave of an expatriate spouse or partner; reassignment for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and death in the family as good examples.
Military Leave
If you are enlisted in the military and are scheduled for deployment or for service, you can avail of Military Leave. Walmart has inserted a pay differential provision that covers the difference if your pay at the military is smaller than your pay at Walmart.
FMLA Leave
Otherwise known as the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, it allows employees to take time off from work without fear of losing their jobs.
Accepted reasons for taking a leave include childbirth, death in the family, family emergency, attending to a serious health issue that requires medical care, and military service.
Do You Qualify For An LOA?
To qualify for an FMLA leave, you should be:
Employed for at least 1 year
Put in a minimum of 1,250 hours in the year prior to your application for the leave.
To qualify for a Personal Leave:
Acquired the medical condition during the inclusive period that you were hired by Walmart.
Family member/loved one acquired the health issue or medical condition during the inclusive period that you were hired by Walmart.
Qualified under reasons specified in Walmart’s policies for Personal Leave.
For Military Leave, the employee should clear the application with the designated People Associate.
Duration Of The Leave
How much time can you take off from Walmart? The company has 3 categories of leave duration:
Continuous Leave
This is granted if the reason for the leave requires an uninterrupted or continuous period of time.
Reduced Hours
This type of leave duration is given to Walmart employees who have been cleared to return to work but cannot work full-time yet.
Intermittent Leave
The leaves are scheduled based on the recommendation of the professional attending to the employee.
For example, a doctor who recommends that that employee avail of the leave benefit during treatment sessions will have to include information on the frequency and length of each absence.
If you apply for intermittent leave, you may be asked to recertify your medical history and information. This is especially true if your situation has caused you to exceed the original arrangement that was approved based on the initial medical certificate.
At this point, your absences will be categorized as “pending” which means they were neither denied nor approved.
Recertification will help support the absences that have been categorized as pending. If for some reason, the absences were not approved, you become accountable and liable based on the guidelines outlined by your respective department.
If your medical condition prohibits you from working full-time or for an extended period, you can apply for Walmart’s short-term disability benefit. This is a claim that employees can use to help recover income that has been lost for a period not exceeding 25 weeks.
For those who were injured while on the job, Walmart has an employee’s compensation benefit for you to use.
Sedwick
Sedgwick is the company’s leave administrator and will help you arrange for an LOA that will cover the same period as your compensation claim assuming you haven’t been to work in more than 3 days.