Taking time off for yourself? That's better living.
Your PTO plan gives you easy access to choice, flexibility, and peace of mind.
With two kinds of PTO working together, you’ve got control over your time off, as well as flexibility in how you use it. Regular PTO lets you take off for holidays, family time, and personal needs. And when “life happens,” protected PTO gives you the time you need, so you don’t have to worry about work. Plus if you don’t use all your PTO this year, you can either roll it over or turn it into cash!
Get a quick summary below. For complete details, please see the PTO policy.
PTO, here we go!
Want to get up to speed on all things PTO?
Let our friend Heather break it down for you.
Regular or Protected?
Full-time or part-time?
It’s all explained here. Take a look!
You earn PTO with every hour you work. And the more years you work for Walmart, the faster you earn it. The amount you earn also depends on whether you’re full-time or part-time. Most associates earn both kinds of PTO at the same time, but temporary associates earn protected PTO only.
Here’s how much you can earn (must be on a work computer)
Usually, you can plan your time away, but sometimes you can’t. That’s why you’ve got two kinds of PTO.
Regular PTO is good for just about anything, anytime—as long as you make a request and get approval before you take off.
Protected PTO is intended for when you’re out sick, need to care for family, or something else comes up that keeps you away, from car trouble to any other reason. Even if you use it at the last minute, it’ll protect you when having an unplanned absence.
What if I have a chronic or long-term medical condition and don’t earn enough Protected PTO to cover all my absences?
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 (ILOA) through mySedgwick or by calling Sedgwick at 1-800-492-5678. If your leave is approved, you will not receive occurrences for absences which are covered by the approved ILOA, 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 have used up all of your ILOA time, you may qualify for leave as an accommodation, which you can request by calling 1-855-489-1600.
First, tell your manager or supervisor as soon as possible. Then just request your time off through the Global Time & Attendance Portal (GTAP).
The system does the rest, depending on the reason you select. If you choose “sick/other” it’ll use protected PTO first. Your absence will be authorized, even if you aren’t able to request it before your absence, 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.
If you choose any other reason, you’ll dip into your regular PTO hours instead. Besides vacations, holidays, and personal needs, you can even use PTO for the waiting period before short-term disability begins. And if you run out, protected PTO kicks in automatically.
Don’t worry—you’ll always get time or cash for unused PTO.
Protected PTO that you don’t use will just roll over to the next year, with no maximum or limit.
Regular PTO saved at the end of the year can turn into cash! If you’ve got 80 or more hours of protected PTO (48 hours for part-time), you’ll cash out any remaining regular PTO. If you don’t have that much protected PTO, you’ll carry over enough regular PTO to make up the difference, then cash out any remaining time.
All of this happens on February 1, when a new PTO “plan year” begins. Any cash-out amount will show up in your first February paycheck.
You can check your balance of both kinds of PTO on the Global Time & Attendance Portal (GTAP).
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.
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 and 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.
When you’re not here, we worry about you!
We understand that “life happens” sometimes and you need time to deal with it. But attendance is important for serving our customers. Plus when you’re not here, we worry about you! Please talk to your manager or people partner if you have any questions about PTO, time away, or your facility’s absence policy.
Need to request time?
Head over to the GTA Portal here.
