Leadership Guide
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Overview
Using PTO
Resources
FlexTO
Walmart understands that when it comes to taking time off from work, we all have different needs. That's why we offer a modern, flexible approach through our Time Off programs. The following sections outline Paid Time Off (PTO) for different associate types.
Skip to salaried associates
Skip to OTR driver associates
Hourly associates
PTO offers choice, flexibility, and peace of mind.
PTO gives you flexibility over your time away and choice in how you use it. Use time for just about anything: holidays, family time, personal needs, and when you’re sick and miss work. Plus, if you don’t use all your PTO this year, some rolls over to the new year and the rest turns into cash!
For full-time associates, PTO works together with short-term disability coverage to support you when you need extended time off due to your own serious medical condition. And depending on your needs, a paid or unpaid leave of absence can cover you if you need to be away for a longer time.
These pages offer a quick summary. For complete details, please see the PTO policies for your work location:
Types of Paid Time Off
Usually you can plan your time away, but sometimes you can’t. That’s why all Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Supply Chain hourly field associates (plus hourly Home Office, Corporate, and Global Tech associates in some locations) have two kinds of PTO—regular PTO and Protected PTO.
Use Regular PTO for just about anything, anytime—as long as you make a request and get approval before you take off. You can also use regular PTO to be paid for an unplanned absence, but it won’t help you avoid attendance points like Protected PTO.
Use Protected PTO when you’re out sick, need to care for family, have transportation issues, or when anything else comes up that keeps you away. Even if you use it at the last minute, it’ll protect you from attendance points due to an unplanned absence as long as you’ve got enough Protected PTO to cover the time away. To learn more, see the PTO policies specific to your work location.
Need more time due to a chronic medical condition?
If you have a chronic or long-term medical condition or are caring for a family member with such a condition, you should request an intermittent Leave of Absence (LOA) through mySedgwick.com or by calling Sedgwick at 800-492-5678. If your leave is approved, you will not receive occurrences for absences which are covered by the approved intermittent LOA, even if you don’t use Protected PTO to be paid for them. If you are missing work due to your own medical condition and are not eligible for an intermittent leave, or you’ve used up all of your intermittent LOA time, you may still qualify for leave as an accommodation, which you can request by calling 855-489-1600.
The longer you're here, the more you earn.
You earn PTO with every hour you work, even when you use PTO. The more years you work for the Company, the faster you earn paid time off. If you have access to Protected PTO where you work, you earn both regular and Protected PTO at the same time, except temporary associates who earn Protected PTO only.
The amount you earn depends on whether you’re full-time, part-time, or temporary. City and state rules also affect how much time you can earn. See the PTO policies for rate charts specific to your work location.
Salaried associates
PTO gives you choice and flexibility.
PTO gives you flexibility over your time away and choice in how you use it. Use time off for just about anything: holidays, family time, sickness, or personal needs.
How much PTO can you use?
On Feb. 1, the first day of the PTO plan year, you’ll have a certain number of PTO days available for use—an Annual PTO amount, plus any days you’ve carried over from the previous plan year. Unused PTO from the previous plan year may affect how much PTO you receive for the new plan year. See the PTO policy for details about PTO carryover.
PTO also works with other time-off programs like short-term disability, leaves of absence, and parental and family care pay. Together, they offer support when you or a family member has a serious medical condition or for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of your child.
Questions about how to use your time? Go to Using PTO.
For all the fine print, please see the PTO policy.
The longer you’re here, the more you earn.
The Annual PTO amount you get on Feb. 1 is based on the years of service you will celebrate during the plan year and your weekly work schedule (five, four, or three days a week).
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| Service years | 5-day workweek | 4-day workweek | 3-day workweek |
| PTO days | PTO days | PTO days | |
| 1 | 21 | 17 | 13 |
| 2 | 23 | 18 | 14 |
| 3-5 | 26 | 21 | 16 |
| 6-9 | 31 | 25 | 19 |
| 10-14 | 34 | 27 | 20 |
| 15+ | 36 | 29 | 22 |
Note: In your first year, your initial amount of PTO days is prorated based on your month of hire.
Optical/Vision
- Salaried Associate Doctors of Optometry receive annual PTO in days based on the years of service celebrated during the plan year and weekly work schedule (five, four, or three days a week). See chart above.
Walmart Health
- Salaried nurse practitioners receive annual PTO in days based on a five-day schedule. See chart above.
Salaried pharmacists
Salaried pharmacists receive PTO based on biweekly hours (also known as Base Hours) in hours.
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| Biweekly hours | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years of service | 90 | 84 | 80 | 79** | 72 | 69** | 64 | 60 | 59* | 56 | 48 |
| Annual PTO in hours | |||||||||||
| 0– 1* | 189 | 176 | 168 | 166 | 151 | 145 | 134 | 126 | 124 | 118 | 101 |
| 1 | 189 | 176 | 168 | 166 | 151 | 145 | 134 | 126 | 124 | 118 | 101 |
| 2 | 207 | 193 | 184 | 182 | 166 | 159 | 147 | 138 | 136 | 129 | 110 |
| 3-5 | 234 | 218 | 208 | 205 | 187 | 179 | 166 | 156 | 153 | 146 | 125 |
| 6-9 | 279 | 260 | 248 | 245 | 223 | 214 | 198 | 186 | 183 | 174 | 149 |
| 10-14 | 306 | 286 | 272 | 269 | 245 | 235 | 218 | 204 | 201 | 190 | 163 |
| 15+ | 324 | 302 | 288 | 284 | 259 | 248 | 230 | 216 | 212 | 202 | 173 |
*Prorated based on month of hire
**Sam’s Club Only
Hourly California salaried equivalent pharmacists with management benefits
If you are an hourly California salaried equivalent pharmacist with management benefits, you’ll receive 80 hours of PTO as a new hire. At the beginning of each plan year, your PTO balance is topped up to 80 hours if the unused PTO balance you carry over from the previous plan year is less than 80 hours. Then, you’ll earn additional PTO hours based on service hours you log (e.g., worked hours, PTO used, and benefit hours like bereavement, jury duty, and parental pay, but not disability pay or workers’ compensation) up to the maximum for your service years.
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| PTO | Protected PTO | Total | ||||||
| Years of service | Rate | Time to earn 1 hour | Max hours/year | Rate | Time to earn 1 hour | Max hours/year | Time to earn 1 hour | Max hours/year |
| 0*-1 | 0.080769 | 12.38 | 168 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 12.38 | 168 |
| 2 | 0.088462 | 11.30 | 184 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 11.30 | 184 |
| 3-5 | 0.100000 | 10.00 | 208 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 10.00 | 208 |
| 6-9 | 0.119231 | 9.39 | 248 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 9.39 | 248 |
| 10-14 | 0.130769 | 7.65 | 272 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 7.65 | 272 |
| 15+ | 0.138462 | 7.22 | 288 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 7.22 | 288 |
*Prorated based on month of hire
OTR Driver associates
PTO gives you choice and flexibility.
With PTO, you have flexibility over your time off and choice in how you use it. Use time off for just about anything: holidays, family time, and personal needs, as well as unexpected time off when “life happens.” PTO you don’t use during the year will either roll over or turn into cash.
PTO also works with other time-off programs like short-term disability, leaves of absence, and parental and family care pay. Together, they offer support when you or a family member has a serious medical condition or for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of your child.
Questions about how to use your time? Go to Using PTO.
For all the fine print, please see the PTO policy.
The longer you’re here, the more you earn.
You earn PTO with every service hour you log, including on-duty hours driving and not driving, plus benefit hours. And the more years you work for Walmart, the faster you earn it.
Full-time drivers
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| Years of service | PTO Hours you could earn* | Max PTO days/year |
| 0-1 | 125 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 21 days |
| 2 | 112 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 23 days |
| 3-5 | 100 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 26 days |
| 6-9 | 83 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 31 days |
| 10-14 | 77 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 34 days |
| 15-19 | 72 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 36 days |
| 20+ | 63 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 41 days |
*Prorated based on month of hire
Part-time drivers
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| Years of service | PTO Hours you could earn* | Max PTO days/year |
| 0-1 | 300 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 6 days |
| 2 | 200 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 13 days |
| 3-5 | 200 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 13 days |
| 6-9 | 200 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 13 days |
| 10-14 | 200 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 13 days |
| 15-19 | 200 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 13 days |
| 20+ | 140 hours = 1 PTO day earned | 18 days |
*Prorated based on month of hire
The following sections show how PTO works for different associate types and what happens when you don’t use it all by the end of the plan year.
Skip to salaried associates
Skip to OTR driver associates
Hourly associates
How to use PTO
First, tell your manager or supervisor as soon as possible. Then request your time off through the Global Time and Attendance (GTA) Portal. You can use your PTO for just about anything—vacations, birthdays, family time, or time for yourself. Your PTO includes time off for holidays, so you can choose the ones that are most important to you.
Keep in mind that your facility’s attendance policy still applies, so be sure to follow the process for reporting an unplanned absence.
Regular PTO or Protected PTO?
If you work in a field Walmart, Sam’s Club, or Supply Chain facility, you can choose to use regular PTO or Protected PTO when you enter your time off request. In Corporate/Home Office locations with access to Protected PTO, the system chooses which kind automatically depending on the reason you select. If you choose “sick/other” or “family care”, it’ll use Protected PTO first, while choosing any other reason will use regular PTO hours instead.
When you use Protected PTO, your absence will be authorized, even if you aren’t able to request it in advance, as long as you’ve got enough Protected PTO to cover it. If you run out and don’t have enough, your regular PTO will be used to pay the rest. But you won’t be absence-protected for the portion of your time away covered by regular PTO—so be sure to understand your facility’s attendance policy.
Because both regular PTO and Protected PTO can be used for any reason, the system will use any available PTO balance to pay you when you don’t have enough of one type or the other.
What if I have an ongoing condition and don’t have enough Protected PTO to cover all my absences?
If you have a chronic or long-term medical condition, or you’re caring for a family member with one, you can request an intermittent leave of absence. You won’t receive occurrences for covered absences when you’re on an approved leave, even if you don’t use Protected PTO to get paid.
If you’re not eligible for an intermittent leave, or you’ve used up all your leave time, you may still qualify for leave as an accommodation if you need to miss work due to your own medical condition. Call 855-489-1600 to learn more.
Didn’t use it all? Cash some out.
You can carry over up to 80 hours of your combined total of regular PTO and Protected PTO into the new plan year each Feb. 1. Any regular PTO or Protected PTO which does not carry over will be included in your paycheck for the pay period that includes Jan. 31. You can always check your balances for both kinds of PTO on the GTA Portal.
If you earn both regular and Protected PTO
Your Protected PTO will be applied first for carryover.
- If your Protected PTO balance is 80 hours or more, you will carry over 80 hours of Protected PTO. Any Protected PTO above this amount, as well as any regular PTO, will be paid out to you.
- If your Protected PTO balance is less than 80 hours, all of your Protected PTO will carry over. A portion of your regular PTO will also carry over to bring the combined total carried over up to 80 hours. The rest of your regular PTO will cash out.
- If your combined PTO and Protected PTO balance is less than 80 hours, all of your PTO and Protected PTO carries over to start the new plan year. You will not receive a cash out.
If you only earn regular PTO
- If your PTO balance is 80 hours or more on Jan. 31, 80 hours of your PTO carries over to start the new plan year, and any extra turns into cash.
- If your PTO balance is less than 80 hours, all of your PTO carries over to start the new plan year. You will not receive a cash-out.
Need more time away?
For full-time associates, your time off benefits work together to keep you covered when you need to be away for longer than your PTO will last:
- Medical. Combine PTO and short-term disability for up to 26 weeks away.
- Maternity. Get nine weeks off at 100% of your pay after a seven-day waiting period.
- Parental. Take six weeks of paid leave to bond with a new child.
You’ll find more information under “getting paid” in the leave of absence section.
Unpaid leave
Depending on your needs and eligibility, a paid or unpaid leave of absence can cover you if you need to be away longer. Learn more about leaves of absence.
Do you have Sick Time left over?
We moved from Sick Time to PTO a while back. As of Feb. 1, 2021, you don’t need to use up all your PTO and Protected PTO before you can use your leftover Sick Time. So go ahead and take that time to:
- Get medical treatment for yourself.
- Take care of a sick parent.
- Cover your pay during a medical leave that’s not covered by short-term disability benefits or during the waiting period before benefits begin.
- Cover you after short-term disability runs out if you don’t have long-term disability.
Of course, you still need to follow your facility’s attendance policy. Sick Time doesn’t work like Protected PTO. So if you use Sick Time for an unplanned absence, it may not be considered authorized.
Need to request time?
Head over to the Global Time and Attendance (GTA) Portal.
Salaried associates: facility level
How to use PTO
Facility-level salaried associates get an annual amount of PTO. You can use your PTO to take time off for just about anything—vacations, birthdays, family time, or time for yourself. Your PTO includes time off for holidays, so you can choose the ones that are most important to you.
Plan ahead!
Whenever you use PTO, it’s important to discuss time off well in advance with your manager to keep things running smoothly while you’re away. The Salaried PTO Tracker can help you track your time off and may be required by your division or location.
What happens if I have unused days on Jan. 31?
If you don’t use all your PTO during the year, it all carries over and will be available to use the next year. A certain amount of PTO that you carry over will not affect the amount of new PTO you receive in the new plan year. But if you carry over too many days, the new plan year’s PTO will be reduced by the excess carryover. The amount you can carry over without reducing your next year’s PTO depends on where you work:
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| Location | Carryover |
| California | 6 days |
| Colorado | 6 days |
| Chicago/Cook County,Illinois | 8 days |
| Dallas, TX | 8 days |
| New Mexico | 8 days |
| New York | 7 days |
| Saint Paul, Minnesota | 10 days |
| Seattle, WA | 13 days |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 10 days |
| Washington, D.C. | 14 days |
| All other locations | 5 days |
For example, in most locations, if you carry over five days of unused PTO, your new annual PTO won’t be affected. But if you carry over eight days, your new Annual PTO will be reduced by three days.
For complete details, see your PTO policy or ask your People Partner for details.
Need more time away?
For salaried associates, your time off benefits work together to keep you covered when you need to be away for longer than your PTO will last:
- Medical. Combine PTO and short-term disability for up to 26 weeks away.
- Maternity. Get nine weeks off at 100% of your pay after a seven-day waiting period.
- Parental. Take six weeks of paid leave to bond with a new child.
You’ll find more information under “getting paid” in the leave of absence section.
Unpaid leave
Depending on your needs and eligibility, a paid or unpaid leave of absence can cover you if you need to be away longer. Learn more about leaves of absence.
What if I’m asked to delay my time off?
Let’s say you’re asked to postpone or delay your previously approved PTO due to an unforeseen business reason, such as a co-worker going on leave due to a medical emergency. You’ll want to make every effort to use that time as soon as possible. But if you can’t arrange to take it before the end of the plan year and this causes you to have excess carryover, the days you’re asked to postpone won’t reduce your new PTO for the next year.
What happens to my PTO when I leave Walmart?
In most locations, you’ll be paid out up to five days of earned and unused PTO if you’ve been with Walmart for at least a year. Different policies and rules apply in some locations. While all of your PTO is available at the beginning of the plan year, you actually earn a portion of your Annual PTO on the first day of each month, and only the unused time you’ve already earned will be considered for payout. For details, see the PTO pay when an associate leaves the company resource.
Salaried associates: above facility level
Salaried campus associates (above facility level) have FlexTO, which offers the flexibility to take time off as needed to integrate work and life, while managing your time and work responsibilities. There are no minimums, maximums, or set balances of time off available in a given year. You’ll find more information on the FlexTO tab.
Plan ahead!
Whenever you use PTO, it’s important to discuss time off well in advance with your manager to keep things running smoothly while you’re away. The Salaried PTO Tracker can help you track your time off and may be required by your division or location.
OTR Truck Driver associates
How to use PTO
First, tell your manager or supervisor as soon as possible. Then request your time off through the GTA Portal. You can use your PTO to take time off for just about anything—vacations, birthdays, family time, or time for yourself. Your PTO includes time off for holidays, so you can choose the ones that are most important to you.
Be sure to follow the process for reporting an unplanned absence. If you’re out unexpectedly for an extended period of time, your manager or People Partners can request PTO for you.
Didn’t use it all? Cash some out.
PTO you’ve saved at the end of the year can turn into cash. If you've got leftover PTO when the plan year ends on Jan 31, up to 10 days will carry over to the next year (or five days if you’re part-time). If you have more than 10 days left over, the rest will be cashed out automatically in your paycheck for the pay period that includes Jan. 31. Your PTO cash-out amount will be based on your average daily pay rate. You can always check your balance in the GTA Portal.
Use these resources to give associates easy access to paid time off benefits information and help, and to guide training sessions.
Get the details below on our new FlexTO plan and our expanded Flexible Parental Pay Policy. To see which cost centers are eligible for FlexTO, people partners can use the Lookup Tool.
Welcome to FlexTO and Flexible Parental Pay
The new Flexible Time Off (FlexTO) plan gives associates the flexibility to take time off when they need it to help maintain their work-life balance, while managing their time and work responsibilities. With FlexTO, we’re simplifying the process by removing set grants of time off that associates can use in a given year.
Supervising managers will continue to review and approve time off requests based on the needs of their business and their associates.
We’re also expanding our parental leave pay for eligible associates from six to 12 weeks with the introduction of our Flexible Parental Pay Policy. This means that when an associate welcomes a child into their family through birth, adoption, or foster care placement, they can now take 12 weeks of paid time off. Associates’ time off can be taken all at once or throughout the year in weekly increments within 12 months from the birth, adoption, or foster care placement, giving them the flexibility they need to support and bond with their growing families.
Who's eligible?
- Beginning Feb. 1, 2023:
- Salaried campus associates (market-level and above) will be eligible for FlexTO.
- All salaried associates, across all lines of business, will be eligible for Flexible Parental Pay.
- U.S.-based global tech associates who are already on the FlexTO plan and Flexible Parental Pay Policy will still be eligible for those plans.
- Due to the needs of the business they support, all hourly and facility-level associates will remain on their current PTO plans. Eligible hourly associates will retain their current parental pay benefits.
Resources
Here are some resources to help you and the associates you support understand FlexTO and Flexible Parental Pay.
Learn more about how FlexTO and Flexible Parental Pay work:
