Avoid Wal-Mart if you don't want to catch H1N1

[VivaciousJewelz]

Heard about this on the radio today. Several people called in and confirmed that this is a corporate policy.

Link

Wal-Mart's stingy sick-leave policy may contribute to swine flu's spread


Wal-Mart's policy of punishing workers for taking sick leave risks spreading swine flu.

So concludes a new report from the National Labor Committee that finds that employees of the Arkansas-based retail giant -- even its food handlers -- feel they have no choice but to work when they're sick. That's because the company gives workers demerits and deducts pay for staying home when they're sick or caring for sick children.

Said a worker at one Wal-Mart supercenter:

Plenty of girls are coughing their brains out. But they cannot go home because of points. Everyone comes in sick. You can't stay home and God forbid if you leave early.

The report found that the only time the company is removing sick workers from the food section is when they are coughing too loudly or violently -- and then the person is merely transferred to another department rather than being sent home.

Wal-Mart's sick-leave policy conflicts with recommendations for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which calls on employers to advise workers to be alert for symptoms of flu-like illness and to stay home if they are ill. The CDC also asks employers to allow workers to stay home to care for sick family members.

According to the NLC report, a senior vice president for Wal-Mart sent out a memo nationwide to all employees on preparing for the flu season. It told employees to "cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze," "wash your hands regularly" and "avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth":

Not a single word was said about the critical CDC recommendation that workers with "any signs of fever and other signs of influenza-like illness...stay home if they are ill."

The memo goes on to tell employees to familiarize themselves with the company's sick leave policy. But as the NLC notes, that policy is the problem.

Wal-Mart has a demerit system that punishes workers who cannot come to work due to illness. Employees who miss a day due to sickness receive a one-point demerit and lose eight hours of wages.

Employees with more than three absences a six-month period face discipline, and a fifth absence -- even for a sick day -- will result in what the company calls "active coaching" by management.

A sixth absence leads to what Wal-Mart calls "Decision Day," when a worker can be either terminated or put on a year-long trial period during which time he or she can be fired for any infraction and cannot be promoted.

The situation is particularly difficult for Wal-Mart workers who are single parents. The NLC reports on an instance in which an employee got a call from her four-year-old's preschool telling her to pick up the child, who had a fever of 103 degrees F. Despite the fact that the employee had already worked for four hours that day, she got a demerit point for leaving and lost her wages for the rest of the day. The report says:

Parents have no choice but to load their children up with Motrin and Dimetap to mask their symptoms so they can go to school.

The NLC is calling on Wal-Mart to immediately end its demerit and wage docking policies.

[hbaqueen]

While this is true Im pretty sure if they have a note from the Dr then you can miss however many days in a row and it only counts as 1 instance.
My sis works for WM and unless things have changed a lot this report isnt 100% accurate. They are PITAs about you taking off and you do get coached after so many missed days and after 3 coachings you get a decsion day and then you either quit/fired or they take you back for a last chance.
Also, Ive known of people missing 100s of days a year and not got even a coaching so its up to the mgm.
Walmart sucks to work for IMO.

They should have also mentioned the idiots shopping when they have it. Some lady was in my sisters store the other day talking to an employee who has cancer and just got thru chemo and she says yeah he has that swine flu and points to her teenager. I guess that employee gave her an ear full but the woman was like oh well we had to come in and gets RXs so we have to kill time some how waiting on them. This was the jewlery counter. She should have left sick kid in car or at home he was old enough to sit in the car alone. And she should have dropped off RX and went back to the car house to wait not spread the crap to the employees who cant take off and all the other shoppers.

[CW&M Mom]

Reason number 987 that i'm avoiding walmart.

[Ggbwg]

When i worked for Walmart you were not aloud to miss after so many days of missing, EVEN if you had a DR's Note. Walmart does not care if you are sick or not. They are about you making them $.

While this is true Im pretty sure if they have a note from the Dr then you can miss however many days in a row and it only counts as 1 instance.
My sis works for WM and unless things have changed a lot this report isnt 100% accurate. They are PITAs about you taking off and you do get coached after so many missed days and after 3 coachings you get a decsion day and then you either quit/fired or they take you back for a last chance.
Also, Ive known of people missing 100s of days a year and not got even a coaching so its up to the mgm.
Walmart sucks to work for IMO.

They should have also mentioned the idiots shopping when they have it. Some lady was in my sisters store the other day talking to an employee who has cancer and just got thru chemo and she says yeah he has that swine flu and points to her teenager. I guess that employee gave her an ear full but the woman was like oh well we had to come in and gets RXs so we have to kill time some how waiting on them. This was the jewlery counter. She should have left sick kid in car or at home he was old enough to sit in the car alone. And she should have dropped off RX and went back to the car house to wait not spread the crap to the employees who cant take off and all the other shoppers.

[hbaqueen]

Like I said things may have changed its been over 4 years since I worked there. It use to be as long as they were consecutive and same excuse even if it was a broken down car or whatever. Then they switched to a drs note.
But I do know that consecutive days still count as one instance at my sisters WM as long as you have a Drs note.
Im not definding the scum bags I think its the worse place in the world to work or shop Im just saying I dont think the article is 100% accurate and also that MANY places have the same types of policy.

[beth119]

The problem with DR's notes is this...

They aren't FREE! How many WM employees can run to the DR everytime they get sick just to get a note?

[Ggbwg]

Oh, i didn't mean to sound like i was arguing or mad, sorry if it came out that way. My motto is make love not war

I agree as well about the article not being 100% accurate. I also know you pick it up anywhere, if people just stop & look around you can see many people are working and being sick. My cashier last week was blowing her nose and bagging my groceries, i didn't like that either but yes she was at Walmart

It's the media that has made this thing so horrible. People just need to slow down, have common sense and do what is best for them selves.

Like I said things may have changed its been over 4 years since I worked there. It use to be as long as they were consecutive and same excuse even if it was a broken down car or whatever. Then they switched to a drs note.
But I do know that consecutive days still count as one instance at my sisters WM as long as you have a Drs note.
Im not definding the scum bags I think its the worse place in the world to work or shop Im just saying I dont think the article is 100% accurate and also that MANY places have the same types of policy.

[kittensqueak]

Reason number 987 that i'm avoiding walmart.

Totally agree. I'd avoid that cesspool at all costs. Just ads more reasons to stay away.

100% accurate or not - this is 100% totally not ok - in any way.

So to anyone thinking of it - boycott Walmart and truly support America. There are so many other options...(and yes - I know about small towns...you can still try - I do!)

[meggers]

Reason number 987 that i'm avoiding walmart.

You must be a young'un. I was at reason 987 about 12 years ago.

[hbaqueen]

Oh, i didn't mean to sound like i was arguing or mad, sorry if it came out that way. My motto is make love not war

I agree as well about the article not being 100% accurate. I also know you pick it up anywhere, if people just stop & look around you can see many people are working and being sick. My cashier last week was blowing her nose and bagging my groceries, i didn't like that either but yes she was at Walmart

It's the media that has made this thing so horrible. People just need to slow down, have common sense and do what is best for them selves.

Oh I didnt think you were upset. Neither was I.
My personality / emotion doesnt always come off well in my posting. I just dislike Walmart (A LOT LOL) but I do think they get a lot of those articles who bash them when other companies do the same things.

And for once beth, well to a digaree. I agree with you if your working to support your family you probably cant afford to run to the DR every time you feel bad. And I definately think health care is a crazy joke and it costs too much.
But atleast while working there I was offered insurance which would cover those Dr visits. And I think its a bit presumptive to assume that someone is too poor to go to the Dr just because they work retail. Again probably just the translation between the thought process and the written word but it came off a lil snobby to me.