Walmart Offers Store Workers Paid Time Off if Disrupted by Coronavirus
March 10 2020 - 4:28PM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Nassauer
Walmart Inc., the country's largest private employer, is
offering store workers two weeks of paid time off if they are
directly impacted by the novel coronavirus or a quarantine, the
company said Tuesday.
The retailer confirmed Monday that a worker in its Cynthiana,
Ky., store had tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by
the new coronavirus. "The associate is receiving medical care, and
her condition is improving," the company said in a memo to
staff.
Many companies that employ a large hourly workforce are
reworking paid-time-off rules in the face of the virus, often
offering more generous leave policies than usual and encouraging
those who feel sick to stay home. Walmart has about 1.5 million
U.S. workers.
At Walmart, if a worker becomes infected or is in an area that
is part of a mandated quarantine they can be paid for up to two
weeks or longer in some cases, Walmart said in its memo. "We've
chosen two weeks because it matches the recommended time for
quarantines related to this virus," said the memo.
Typically Walmart allows store workers to earn up to 48 hours of
paid time off to be used for sick leave or other last minute
issues.
To encourage sick workers to stay home, Walmart is also allowing
any employee to miss work without negatively affecting their
employee record through the end of April. Usually Walmart workers
earn negative "points" if they miss work spontaneously without
getting approval and can be fired after earning too many
points.
Write to Sarah Nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 10, 2020 16:13 ET (20:13 GMT)
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