When you get sick, do you take the day off? You should, especially if you have the flu or other viruses that are easily spreadable. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agree, but Walmart, through its corporate policies, are not heeding that advice. In fact, a new mini report from the National Labor Committee shows that Walmart employees regularly come to work sick because they can't afford the loss in wages or because they are afraid of being fired for taking 'too many' sick days. The whole report is worth a read, but here are a few key pieces:
But it is Wal-Marts policies on sick leave that are the problem. Wal-Mart has a punitive point (demerit) system that punishes workers who cannot come to work because they are ill or their children need care. Associates who miss a day due to sickness (or for any other reason) will receive a one point demerit, along with the loss of eight hours wages. Moreover, employees who “have more than three absence occurrences in a rolling six-month period…will be disciplined.” (“Attendance/Punctuality Policy (PD-52) New York,” January 2008.) Workers with four absences in any six-month period—no matter what the reason—will be disciplined. A fifth occurrence—like a sick day—will result in “active coaching” by management, and a sixth occurrence” will activate a “Decision Day,” when an “associate” can either be terminated or put on a year-long trial period, during which a worker can be fired for any infraction, no matter how insignificant. During this year-long probation the worker cannot receive a promotion.
Wal-Mart must immediately end its punitive point system, which gives workers demerits that can lead to firing for taking a sick day, while also docking their wages. More than any other Wal-Mart policy, it is the point system and loss of wages which routinely drives employees to work no matter how sick they are, including if they are suffering flu-like symptoms......The vast majority of current Wal-Mart employees are too terrified to speak openly and on the record, or even to name their stores for fear of retaliation. "Everyone knows you have to be quiet," as one associate put it, "We cannot talk. Everyone is afraid and will never say anything critical" of Wal-Mart. A senior Wal-Mart employee agreed: "Fear and need will keep things as they are."
It's not a huge surprise, really. We hear from workers every day who can't take sick time. But as flu season rolls around, and as H1N1 adds an additional level of concern, it's time to take a look at Walmart's policy again. Not only is this bad policy in general, bad for the workers and bad for the customers, it is potentially bad financially for Walmart. If, instead of going to work when they have the flu and getting seriously ill, Walmart allowed their workers to take a few days off and get better, perhaps Walmart's work force would be more efficient and they wouldn't have to pay so much in health care costs.
Posted by Taylor - November 3, 2009 03:51 PM - Health Care
it is time for Wal Mart to do the right thing for Wal Mart Worker right of away and right now please by read their note from the Doctor about Wal Mart too Sick to come to Work with a Swine Flu and provide Wal Mart Worker Compensation for Wal Mart Work right of away away and right now please for Wal Mart Worker is too Sick with Swine Flu and take Care of Wal Mart Worker who got sick or Injury on the Job with Worker Compensation right of away and right now please
Posted by Tom P Noonan - November 3, 2009 05:14 PM
tell Wal Mart read their Wal Mart Employee note from their Doctor right of away and right now please about Wal Mart Worker too Sick with a Swine Flu to come to Work
Posted by Tom P Noonan - November 3, 2009 05:20 PM
It's sad that you're so biased against Wal-Mart that you have to manipulate information to try and make them look bad. Why didn't you put the entire policy in the article so people could make up their own minds as to whether or not it is a bad one? Is it because the truth wouldn't have gotten the reaction you wanted? Allow me to fill in the missing pieces:
When a Wal-Mart employee take time off for being sick, they earn a "point" or "occurrence." These points are not coachings or warnings, but rather a counter to make sure people do not abuse the ability to call in sick. If someone calls in sick and is gone for multiple days or comes back but then has to leave again for the same issue within a reasonable time frame, they do not rack up additional points for the subsequent days missed. An employee is allowed to have three occurrences in a rolling six month period before the first step of coaching (someone saying "Hey, try not to call in so much"). That means they could be so sick that they could not come to work SIX TIMES in a single year without any major consequences. It seems pretty unlikely that a normal person would get that sick that often, but if someone were to have a chronic condition (including one that could compromise the immune system making them more susceptible to getting sick) they would qualify for medical leave. In that case, they would not get any occurrences for the times missed due to their condition.
As far as the pay goes, these are hourly workers. They do not lose eight hours wages. They still get paid for all the time there. If someone came in and worked five hours of their eight hour shift, they would get paid for the five hours they worked. Also, they earn sick hours which can be used when they call in sick. They are not allowed to use them the first day they miss in an attempt to keep people from just calling in for frivolous reasons (like a hangover). Even that can be overridden with a call to Human Resources with a good reason. I know the next question would be "what about the people who don't have sick hours?" Wal-Mart allows it's employees to donate extra sick hours to a pool that can be drawn from by people who really need them.
Finally, Wal-Mart has a very strict policy about letting people leave who say they can not work that day. That means that everyone who comes to work sick did so voluntarily. If they claim their manager "forced" them to come in/stay, they need to get in touch with their district managers, their Human Resources department or the ethics hotline to get the issue resolved.
So I guess to me, the policy seems very fair. Especially since I have worked for multiple other companies with much more strict policies. You have to remember, the only reason the policies are there in the first place is to keep employees from ABUSING things like sick days. No normal person should ever need to go beyond what is allowed and the policies are frequently overridden in extenuating circumstances. I'm sorry if a more thorough look the real policy deflates some of your moral outrage.
Posted by Frank Vermseltz - November 4, 2009 03:43 AM
Frank,
It's not abnormal for a person to be sick more than six days in a year. If you never get sick, congratulations. Most people are not so fortunate. Real influenza, as opposed to one of the many viruses that people mistakenly call 'the flu', will have you in bed for two weeks, even if you are in your early twenties and healthy.
I have never worked for an employer who gave only six days of sick leave per year. Wal-Mart should tell their workers to stay home when sick, and pay them for lost time if they have a doctor's excuse stating that they had H1N1 flu or seasonal flu.
Otherwise, they're endangering their customers, and I don't intend to shop with Wal-Mart during flu season unless they change their policy. I am in a high risk group and cannot afford to contract influenza and wind up in intensive care with complications, even die, because Wal-Mart won't let their employees stay home when they're sick.
Posted by Jack Ketch - November 5, 2009 02:08 PM
Jack-
It's not 6 days, it's 6 illness periods. If you are sick two days in a row, for example, it is only one occurance.
Posted by Ike - November 6, 2009 12:40 AM
You have to admit Wal-Mart is almost perfect when it comes to the possibility of spreading disease. If not from sick associates then how about some tubercular child in Bangladesh coughing a lunger into your cheap underwear.
Posted by bluetooth - November 11, 2009 10:57 PM
walmart aint going to change their policy, they would probably coach some employee
at their funneral if they got sick and died
Posted by Geri - November 12, 2009 01:58 AM
walmart should change their absence policy because we are all human and everyone gets sick. At our store if you get in a car wreck and its not your fault its a un exscused absence which stinks
Posted by Geri - November 12, 2009 02:12 AM
Geri,
How often do you get in a car accident? Sheesh! You are allowed more than one absence every 6 months! You're supposed to use them for unexpected emergencies like the one you mentioned. They are not there so you can call off "just because." You're supposed to schedule time off for that. If you use your absences up because you just felt like sleeping in, then you are being inconsiderate to your coworkers.
Posted by Ike - November 14, 2009 12:48 AM
i work at walmart i recently received a written coaching for missing 5 days in a 6 month period. two days were for being so upset because my dad died. one month later i broke a bone. this was my 3rd point. my 4th point was due to an upper respiratory infection Dr, note included { Dr. note also included for broken bone] 5th point was for swine flu.Dr, note included i was told by management that if i miss another day before April 2010 i will get my decision making day. this will mean 1 year probation. if i lose my job i lose my home. i am scared to death this point system is totally unfair and something needs to be done .associates are always coming in sick and passing on viruses to associates and customers alike. it's wrong and should be illegal. so Ike i hope i have educated you a little bit.
Posted by kathy - November 15, 2009 08:55 PM
This is very true I had the flu and called in for one day while i had a fever and worked the rest i was sick for thirteen daysand was hard to get thru. But I asked my supervisor for more hours a few weeks later and she said well if you would not call in you would have more hours and i said you expect me to come to work with a temp of 103 and delirious from it and bake food?I do not call in unless real sick and am a hard worker. This friday she scheduled me to work 2pm to 6pm bakery and then 7pm to 11pm same day and then be there at 6 am the next morning I asked her to change it and she says why cant I work it and be done with it.
Posted by edjy - November 16, 2009 02:04 PM
Also it is not just the employees what about the customers that come in sick hackin and spewing their body fluids everywhere then touching the food,clothes and cartspassing all the germs that way and we clean up their crap. On the whole I enjoy working at walmart most of my issues were with gossiping and lazy associates and supervisor
Posted by edjy - November 16, 2009 02:14 PM
Yea, the whole "point" system is B.S. Here is a day that my child is ill, however because of my posistion and time missed in the recent 6 mos. (all legitimate) that I simply cant take the day off and spend time with my child! I don't feel that I'll be fired if I do...however I could easily see them asking me to step down because of not putting work first. Now that its the holiday system, my child would have to be on her death bed for it to be "acceptable" for me to call in tonight!!! At times I hate this COMPANY!!!!!
Posted by lowermgmt - November 19, 2009 04:06 PM