FMLA
Take job-protected leave for qualifying
medical, family, or child-bonding needs.
Personal
Request a leave for a wide
range of other reasons.
Military
Take time off for military service.
A leave of absence (LOA) lets you take time away from work for a specific reason, like the birth or adoption of a child, your own serious health condition or a family member’s, or military service. A leave must be requested and approved, and it may be paid or unpaid based on your reason for taking time off. Here’s an overview of available leaves.
Paid Time Off (PTO)
Job-protected. You’ll have your old job or an equivalent if you return within 12 weeks.
Not job-protected. You may not have the same job available when you return from this type of leave.
Paid benefits may be available while on an approved leave of absence. See the Leave of Absence or People Policies pages for eligibility.
You’re eligible as soon as you’re hired, except where noted.
Paid time away for just about anything: holidays, family time, personal needs and sickness.
- Regular PTO (all locations)
- Protected PTO (Stores, Clubs, and Supply Chain only, plus other locations where required by law)
Time away to care for yourself or your family.
- Your own condition – up to 12 weeks
- To care for an eligible family member’s serious health condition – up to 12 weeks
- Birth, adoption, or foster care placement – up to 12 weeks
- Military care/emergency – up to 12 weeks
To be eligible for Family and Medical Leave, you must have worked at least 12 months and 1,250 hours.
May be used intermittently or continuously
Non-discretionary
- Medical – up to 52 weeks
- Extended family care – up to 12 weeks
- Worker’s compensation – up to 52 weeks
- Spouse/partner, military – up to 4 weeks
- Spouse/partner, expat – duration of assignment
- ADA reassignment – up to 90 days
Discretionary
- Family care – up to 52 weeks
- Parental – up to 52 weeks
- Bereavement – up to 12 weeks
- Transfer – up to 4 weeks
- Education – up to 52 weeks
- Compelling reason – up to 12 weeks
- Quarantine or Isolate – Up to 12 weeks
PTO gives you control over your time away and flexibility in how you use it. Request time off for just about anything: holidays, family time, sickness, and personal needs. How you earn and request PTO depends on your job.
Hourly associates
Regular Paid Time Off (PTO)—Use regular PTO for just about anything: holidays, family time, and personal needs. You can use regular PTO to be paid for an unplanned absence, but the absence may result in an attendance occurrence unless it is protected by other policies, such as the FMLA. The longer you work for Walmart, the more PTO you can earn. You’ll use the GTA Portal to request time off and have it approved. Be sure to follow the guidelines for your facility when you request PTO.
Protected Paid Time Off (PPTO)—Use Protected PTO when you have an unplanned absence, like if you’re out sick or need to care for family. PPTO gives you absence protection which means that the absence will not go on your attendance record.
You’ll use the GTA Portal to request to use PPTO. You can also use PPTO for planned absences. If you don’t have enough regular PTO to get paid for a time off request, the system will automatically use your PPTO. Protected PTO is available to Store, Club, and Supply Chain associates, plus other locations where required by law.
Salaried associates
You’ll have a certain number of PTO days available for use on Feb. 1, the first day of the plan year. The longer you work for Walmart, the more PTO you can earn. Your total includes all unused days you've carried over from the previous year, and your annual PTO amount for the new year, minus any reduction if you've carried over more than the annual limit. While it's all available starting Feb. 1, you actually earn a portion of your annual PTO each month.
How you request and track time off as a salaried associate is up to you and your manager. You must use a balance tracking method when required by your division. It’s important to discuss time off well in advance to keep things running smoothly while you’re away.
Drivers
You’ll earn PTO based on your service hours. The longer you work for Walmart, the more PTO you can earn. You’ll use the GTA Portal to request time off and have it approved.
For more details, see PTO Overview.
If you’re eligible, this type of leave lets you take up to 12 weeks of job-protected time away from work for a qualifying reason. These can include:
- Your own serious medical condition or that of a family member
- Birth, adoption, or foster care placement
- Military family care or a family member’s military active duty
The details are defined by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), so for more information, see the Family and Medical Leave Act policy. You’re eligible for this type of leave if you have:
- Worked for the company for 12 months and
- Worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months before your leave begins.
Some states also provide leave options for family and medical needs with different reasons, durations, and eligibility requirements. See State and local leave for more details.
Several states have their own laws for job-protected, paid time away from work for personal and family reasons. Keep in mind that even if you access a leave program through your state, you’ll also need to visit mySedgwick.com to request a Walmart leave of absence.
The summary below is provided for informational purposes only. Your state determines eligibility for benefits and benefit amounts under any state program, and these may change over time. Please refer to your state’s website for complete and current details.
California offers paid time away from work for the following reasons:
- California Paid Family Leave (CA PFL) offers up to eight weeks of paid time away from work to welcome a new child, care for family members with medical needs, or take leave because of a family member’s military deployment.
- California State Disability Insurance (CA SDI) offers up to 52 weeks of paid time away from work if you have a non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy.
To access these programs, apply directly on the state’s website.
Colorado Family and Medical Leave Insurance (CO FAMLI) offers paid, job-protected time to eligible associates through the state to:
- Welcome a new child into their family (through birth, adoption, or foster care).
- Take time away due to their own serious health condition.
- Take care of a family member with a serious illness or injury.
- Take time off for certain military-connected events.
- Take time off because they or a family member are the victim of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault or abuse.
Associates on qualified leave may receive up to 12 weeks of paid benefits from the state. An extra 4 weeks may be available from the state for associates needing more time away due to a serious health condition related to pregnancy or childbirth complications.
Your Walmart Benefits will be reduced by the amount you are eligible to receive from the state regardless of whether you apply for your state benefit. *Important* Associates must apply both with Sedgwick and with the state.
Please see:
- Associate Benefits Book and Walmart’s Colorado Leave of Absence Policy for coordination of your Walmart and state specific benefits.
- Colorado Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program website for more details and to apply for benefits.
This paid leave program offers up to 12 weeks of time away from work to welcome a new child, care for yourself, or care for your family. It also offers an additional two weeks for incapacitation due to pregnancy.
If the regular Walmart benefit is greater than what the state offers, Walmart will supplement the state benefit with paid benefits through Sedgwick to equal your full pay. The total paid benefits between both programs will not exceed 100% of your income before your leave.
To access the program, apply directly on the state’s website.
This paid leave program offers time away from work to welcome a new child, care for yourself, or care for your family. It offers:
- Up to six weeks of paid leave for your own medical condition.
- Up to six weeks to care for another family member.
- Up to two weeks to receive prenatal care.
- Up to eight weeks to welcome a new child through birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
- A combined maximum of eight weeks if you qualify for more than one type of benefit, or ten weeks including prenatal care.
If the regular Walmart benefit is greater than what the District offers, Walmart will supplement the District benefit with paid benefits through Sedgwick to equal your full pay. The total paid benefits between both programs will not exceed 100% of your income before your leave.
To access the program, apply directly on the District's website.
This paid leave program offers up to 26 weeks of time away from work if you have a non-work-related injury or sickness, including recovery from pregnancy.
To access the program, contact Sedgwick at 800-492-5678 or mySedgwick.com.
This paid leave program offers time away from work to bond with a new child or to care for yourself and your family members during difficult times. It offers:
- Up to 12 weeks to welcome a new child through birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
- Up to 20 weeks if you have a serious illness or injury.
- Up to 12 weeks to care for a relative with a serious illness or injury.
- Up to 26 weeks to care for a family member who is a covered service member.
- Up to 12 weeks to provide support when a family member is on active military duty or has been notified of an impending order to active duty.
- A combined maximum of 26 weeks if you qualify for more than one type of benefit.
If the regular Walmart benefit is greater than what the state offers, Walmart will supplement the state benefit with paid benefits through Sedgwick to equal your full pay. The total paid benefits between both programs will not exceed 100% of your income before your leave.
To access the program, apply directly on the state’s website.
New Hampshire Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance (NH PFML) is a new voluntary statewide program, administered through MetLife Insurance, that allows individuals to take paid time off for some of life’s most important moments.
Enrollment
All associates who work in New Hampshire are eligible to enroll in NH PFML and may do so during the state’s annual open enrollment by visiting the state’s website at https://www.paidfamilymedicalleave.nh.gov/enroll-now. New hires may also be eligible to join NH PFML mid-year by visiting the state’s website.
Premium payments
Associates who enroll in NH PFML will have contributions deducted from their paycheck. The contribution rate will be determined by MetLife on an individual basis and will be communicated to both the associate and Walmart. Associate contributions into this program will be through payroll deductions up to a biweekly maximum of $10.00.
Uses of NH PFML
Enrolled associates will become eligible to use the benefits seven (7) months after the effective date of their coverage for up to six (6) weeks per benefit year after up to a 7-calendar day waiting period for the following reasons:
- Own serious health condition, including childbirth
- Bond with a child during the first year of birth or placement for adoption or foster care
- Care for a family member with a serious health condition
- Qualifying urgent demand or need arising out of the fact that the worker’s spouse, child or parent is a covered military service member on covered active duty
- To care for a covered military service member with a serious injury or illness
Coordination with Other Benefits
NH PFML runs concurrently with federal FMLA or a company personal leave when the associate is qualified for leave under both programs. However, an associate may not qualify for NH PFML on the same day that they qualify for a Walmart benefit. MetLife may require usage of all paid leave (except for 7 days), as applicable to the reason for leave, before NH PFML is paid.
Resources
- New Hampshire Paid Family Medical Leave (MetLife) - www.metlife.com/new-hampshire
- New Hampshire Paid Family Medical Leave – www.paidfamilymedicalleave.nh.gov
These paid leave programs offer time away from work to care for yourself or your family members in certain circumstances.
- Up to 12 weeks to care for a family member or bond with a newborn, newly adopted, or foster child.
- Up to 26 weeks for your own serious illness or injury.
To access these programs, contact Sedgwick at 800-492-5678 or mySedgwick.com.
This paid leave program offers up to 12 weeks of time away from work to welcome a new child, care for family members with medical needs, or take leave because of a family member’s military deployment.
To access these programs, contact Sedgwick at 800-492-5678 or mySedgwick.com.
Oregon Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance, also known as Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) offers paid, job-protected time to eligible associates through the state to:
- Welcome a new child through birth, adoption or foster care placement.
- Care for a family member with a serious illness or injury.
- Recover from a serious illness or injury.
- Cope with sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment or stalking.
Associates on qualified leave may receive up to 12 weeks of paid benefits from the state. An extra 2 weeks may be available for associates needing more time away due to pregnancy related issues.
Your Walmart Benefits will be reduced by the amount you are eligible to receive from the state whether or not you apply for your state benefit.
Please see:
- Associate Benefits Book and Walmart’s Oregon Leave of Absence Policy for coordination of your Walmart and state specific benefits.
- Paid Leave Oregon website for more details and to apply for benefits..
These leave programs offer time away from work to care for yourself or your family members:
- RI TCI: Up to six weeks to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a newborn child, adopted child, or foster child.
- RI FMLA: Up to 13 weeks per rolling two-year period to care for your own serious illness or injury.
To access RI TCI, apply directly on the state website at dltweb.dlt.ri.gov or dlt.ri.gov/tdi.
This paid leave program offers time away from work to welcome a new child, care for yourself, or care for your family. It provides:
- Up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for yourself or a family member or to bond with a new child.
- Up to 16 weeks of total paid leave for family and medical events in one year.
- Up to 18 weeks of combined medical and family (child bonding) paid leave for complications due to pregnancy.
If the regular Walmart benefit is greater than what the state offers, Walmart will supplement the state benefit with paid benefits through Sedgwick to equal your full pay. The total paid benefits between both programs will not exceed 100% of your income before your leave.
To access the program, apply directly on the state’s website. You can also call the state’s dedicated PFML experts at 833-717-2273 or check out the Quick Reference Guide for more details.
For more details see the FMLA policy page.
To review the latest updates to our COVID-19 related time off policies, please visit the following links:
To find information about the vaccine, hear stories from other associates, and find your nearest vaccination site, visit One.Walmart.com/COVID19.
Military leave allows you to take time off work for your military service. You may be eligible for up to 30 days of pay per calendar year. After that, you may be eligible for up to 12 months of differential pay per continuous leave if your military pay is less than your Walmart pay. You’ll need to provide your military orders to receive pay.
For details, see the Military Leave policy.
If you need to be away for more than three days, Personal leave allows time away from work for a qualifying reason. These can include:
- Medical conditions (yours or a family member’s)
- Birth, adoption, or foster care placement
- Extended family member care
- Expatriate spouse/partner leave (related to international relocation)
- Military spouse/partner (to accompany your spouse/partner, or attend to family/personal matters if spouse/partner is a U.S. service member called to active duty or to care for a military spouse or partner
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) reassignment
- Educational leave
- Bereavement (when more than three days are needed)
- Pharmacy education: Up to 52 weeks to pursue pharmacy education (Pharmacy interns only)
- Compelling reasons (e.g., natural disaster, legal concerns, housing/moving, etc.)
- Quarantine and isolate
Some types of leave are job-protected, which means you will be returned to your position or an equivalent position; however, your role may be temporary filled until you return. For more details, see the Personal Leave of Absence Policy.
If you are taken out of work due to an on-the-job injury managed through Walmart Claims Services (WCS), you must also request a leave of absence with Sedgwick. Sedgwick will communicate a leave decision to you, your manager and your people partner which may include paid benefit information, leave policy eligibility and/or job protection status, if eligible. Failure to report the leave could result in unexcused absences and a delay in eligible benefits.
Contact your WCS claims examiner for any questions related to the workers’ compensation claim or to find out more information about the Workers’ Compensation process.
Short-term disability
If you have a serious medical condition requiring a leave for more than seven calendar days, you may qualify for short-term disability. This paid benefit can replace some or all of your income for up to 25 weeks after a waiting period of seven calendar days. When you apply for leave, your leave specialist will let you know if you’re eligible for short-term disability and help you file a claim. If you're a full-time hourly associate, you must have 12 months of employment to be eligible.
Maternity benefit
If you’re a new mother, this benefit provides up to nine weeks of protected paid time away from work at 100% of your average earnings (or base pay for salary and average daily pay for drivers) after an initial waiting period of seven calendar days. Because this benefit is part of your short-term disability coverage, you’ll need to file a claim with Sedgwick. It’s important to file before the baby’s due date to make sure your benefits are paid right away.
See the Associate Benefits Book for more information about your benefits and eligibility.
This benefit gives moms and dads up to 100% of your average earnings (or base pay for salaried and average daily pay for drivers) for up to six weeks (or 12 weeks for salaried associates) while you’re on an approved parental leave for the birth, adoption, or foster-care placement of your child. If you’re a new mother, you may take parental leave immediately following your maternity benefit, for a total of 16 weeks of continuous paid leave (when you use PTO to cover the seven-day waiting period).
For more details, see the applicable Parental Pay policy page for either Salaried associates or Hourly and Driver associates.
Note: This policy applies to salary and driver associates only.
If you need time away to care for a family member with a serious medical condition, family care leave provides up to 100% of your base pay (or average daily pay for drivers) for up to two weeks while you’re on approved family care leave. Available to salaried and truck driver associates only.
For more details, see the Family Care Policy.
More resources
Need help?
For leave of absence help, visit mySedgwick.com or call Sedgwick at 800-492-5678.For benefits help, call People Services at 800-421-1362.
Mon.–Fri. 7 a.m.–7 p.m. (CT), Sat. 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m. (CT).
Helpful? 
