personally i think it's really dumb,to have to call a 800 # to tell someone you sick or whatever!! how childish!! what about the ones that really are sick & come to work w/the clu or a cold and are snezzing,coughing,spreading germs around when working
in bakery,produce,meats seafoods& deli???? what's your answer to that?i sure wouldn't want to have to come in any store & see an employee doing all that.
that is very unsanitary. & leaves a very bad impression on the customer& what they value about their employees!! & that's not saying much for the company itself amongst everything else that goes on.

Everyone get sick, that's true. But these people that “play the system” cost companies money. Maybe enough money that if lowers or eliminate raises or increase the prices of products. (Can you say inflation?)All companies should have the right to run their companies as efficiently as possible. The employees that are truly sick, I would assume, will only miss now and then and would be with the majority, not the minority that will miss an inordinate amount of time.

I believe this policy is designed to weed out the "Trents" of the world.

According to the WSJ article, employee sick-calls cost companies an average of $660 per year now. Imagine the costs associated with a workforce of over 1 million. I think that is a target big enough for Wal-Mart to try to reduce.

If someone is legitimately sick then they would have no problem following the procedure required to call-in-sick. (After all, calling the 800 number before the manager only adds a single step) I sincerely doubt this policy will increase occurances of employees coming to work sick.

Those employees who are trying to play the system might think twice about doing so -- at least frequently -- if their unexcused absences are documented.

As a shareholder i'm pleased to see Wal-Mart trying to strip the costs associated with worker sick-calls going into the busy holiday season. Those associates who disagree with this policy are more-than-likely the ones who were abusing the system in the first place.

As for the unions... well, they will find something wrong with any policy the company enacts. Eventually their membership will tire of them spending millions of dollars in dues money in failed attempts to unionize Wal-Mart and their campaign will end.

I'll agree with Mike 100% (comment #3)

Every employer in the country has to deal with workers who are less than serious about their jobs. For Walmart to initiate a policy which makes workers accountable for their attendance is simply good solid business practice. This policy will do absolutly no harm to those of us who have to take a couple days off each year because we have legitimate health issues.

I only have one concern regarding this. There are occasional instances when even the most dedicated employees will have a "run of bad luck". I myself have had one particularly troublesome period when several consecutive legitimate issues affected my work attendance in a negative way... to the point that it cost me a pay raise. The upside is that because my employer knows me, my performance and my work ethic they were understanding enough to look past my temporary situation and maintained my job position while I dealt with some very serious family issues.

If Walmart will leave the final decision making regarding terminations for negative attendance to the managers of each store, then using an overall corporate system to account for days lost should not lead to any big problems. However, If Walmart uses this system to arbitrariy displace employees based on a simple days lost tally, then employer compassion is thrown out the window and I personally would never work for such a firm.

Sam Walton would be rolling in his grave, again. Where is the personal responsibility for the company-employee relationships in its management? This is now placing a simple attendance policy in the hands of a computer, and out of the hands of the people who should be running the store, for the chance of rasing the profits by, what, a million dollars? When the company CEO's are worth billions?
How would you like to be a long term, good employee, who has hit a rough patch or emergency, and you find out that, by taking your sick leave that the company has given you, you are now fired by a computer set up by a person who is making millions from your labor, just to make shure their profits stay at the maximum. Shouldn't that be the job of the store management?
For those that will abuse the system, it is a simple matter of the management team enforcing the company attendance policy, and should be fired. This smacks of heartless greed. How would a shareholder like a computer tracking their use of sick leave, instead of a person?

Good policy, for instance if you have 15 cashiers scheduled and 6 call in, what do you do, customers are still coming to the store, they need to be checked out. It makes the assoc. responsible for themselves.

If you don't work, you shouldn't get paid. If you hired a plumber and he didn't fix your toilet, would you want to still pay him for fixing your toilet? Why is this any differet? because it's retail and not plumbing?
People are out trying to get that extra dollar without providing contribution.

If someone is legitimatey sick, that's one thing. I believe this is to weed out the lasy bastards who just want to get paid without working for it. As it should be.

Good Job walmart for standing up for what is right.

This article may contain some good information. However to mix information about a lawsuit regarding labor practices/breaks with unrelated information about a new sick time tracking system is a dishonest journalistic technique that attempts to condemn this new policy because of an unrelated separate issue.

My guess is that these journalists have traffic tickets, try to avoid paying their taxes, and spend too much time watching TV. They've probably disobeyed their parents and drank before 21. [And these issues, like Wal-Mart's settled lawsuits, are irrelevant to a critique of their article.]

The next time you buy some deli food from Walmart, remember that the guy behind the counter might have been scared to call in when he is sick.

WHEN WILL THE MIDDLE CLASS OF THIS COUNTRY WAKE UP. I'M TIRED OF FOLKS TELLING ME I CAN'T BE A CHRISTIAN AND BE A DEMOCRAT! WAL MART HAS SINGLE HANDEDLY DESTROYED WHAT OUR MOTHERS & FATHERS WENT THROUGH TO MAKE THIS COUNTRY GREAT. WHEN THEY SAY FREE & EQUAL TRADE,THE ONLY WAY IT CAN BE EQUAL IS IF THERE COUNTRY'S WAGES RISES OR OURS DECREASES,GUESS WHICH ONE WILL HAPPEN! WE HAVE SET BY AND LET PEOPLE LIKE THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION,WHICH IS WITHOUT A DOUBT,THE MOST CROOKED,CRUEL AND GREEDY ADMINISTRATION TO EVER GOVERN THIS COUNTRY! I PERSONALLY QUIT PURCHASING ANYTHING FROM WAL MART! I NOW PURCHASE MY PRODUCTS AT STORES LIKE TARGET,KROGER & WINN DIXIE THAT PAYS THERE EMPLOYEES DECENT WAGES,AND PROVIDES FAIR HEALTH CARE AND OTHER BENEFITS THAT WAL MART SCREWS THERE EMPLOYEES,AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE OUT OF. EVERYTIME YOU USE YOUR DOCTOR,HOSPITAL OR THERAPIST,REMEMBER THE REASON THE BILL IS SO HIGH IS BECAUSE YOU ARE SUBSIDIZING WAL MARTS EMPLOYEES WHO DOES'NT HAVE DECENT HEALTH CARE. WAKE UP AND TAKE AMERICA BACK BEFORE IT IS TO LATE!!!!!!!!!
VOTE: GEORGE C. WALLACE FOR PRESIDENT! HE COULD DO BETTER FROM HIS GRAVE!

I think this could be another PR and HP nightmare. What criteria will the system use? While we may chuckle at Trent getting canned, what happens when it's a single mom with a baby that is sick one time too many? Either there has to be bias, in which case people will call foul, or it will be ruthlessly impartial, in which case the mother gets canned.

Not good for a company trying to improve its image on health care.

I agree that the "1-800" method is pure corporate dehumanization at its worst. What is the point of having a store manager at all if you can just report to a computer?

However, I am taken aback that anyone could be insulted by a rule requiring every employee to call their boss if they are unable to come to work. I have worked for varying levels of government at the state and local level for 25 years with the full knowledge that my career would be ended if I didn't call in ... and I'm talking "once", not three times. Clear exceptions are made for employees who can't call (they are in the hospital, they have been in an accident, they have lost their voice and live alone, etc.) But to otherwise just not show up for work without notifying anyone is clear grounds for termination in any workplace. It's called work for a reason.

Charlie Sampson said, "I NOW PURCHASE MY PRODUCTS AT STORES LIKE TARGET,KROGER & WINN DIXIE THAT PAYS THERE EMPLOYEES DECENT WAGES,AND PROVIDES FAIR HEALTH CARE..."

Charlie - Better take another look at Target's pay & benefits before you shop there again. I don't think you'll be impressed.

Next, give your elementary school english teacher a call and have them explain the difference between "THEIR" and "THERE" to you.

Regards,
Mike

Weed out some chronic call -in employees, yes. But the way I understand this policy is that you are allowed 3 call-ins a year, period. If you are hospitalized that is still counted times 1. So I guess sick time means very little as nobody would take the risk to use it.
Did they make some kind of deal with the employees that they could get some of that sick time they have built up back in discounts or something?
And what about a family emergency? Any time you call into the 800 number it will subtract 1 from the allowed 3 call-ins. Oh, and did I mention a tardy will be counted as one?
I think WMT a little overboard on this one.
maybe someone that has seen the new policy should explain the details and give stock holders a better understanding.

My comment about this as well as Wal-Mart's fake blogging is at http://www.agencynext.com/2006/10/15/cant-buy-me-love/

Wal-Mart is customer-focused and need employees present to meet this commitment. I've been in business 32 years and have always had rules relating to tardiness and attendance. Among our 30 employees, the average time with the company is over 15 years. The medical/insurance/profit sharing benefits to employees are unmatched by 98% of all businesses. Good employees appreciate and honor fair rules. We are small, so enforcement is personal; if we had more than 200 employees, a computer would be used to keep track of the unhealthy or system abusers. Greg.

well I can understand some of it but then again let's take for instant you have a dr appointment. You are off on weekends. The dr is only monday thru friday.You don't need to take the whole day off just a couple of hours. You go to work, go to the dr come back to work.Guess what that is counted against you.some things you have to go to the dr for so that is not right. What about the mangers why aren't they under the same as the other empolyee's.Fair is fair.If someone is in a bad car wreck and you have to take off no mater what it is counted also. If someone is always sick or calling in get rid of them.Don't punish the ones that are working hard and care about their job.If the reason they are out is because they can't control it that is different.This hurts the wrong person. I know it might not be a big deal hopefully nothing like this will happen to the ones that aren't lazy and not wanting to work but to make them worry if something would happen is sad.

I can understand calling in to an 800 number. After all the problems WalMart has had with employees joining class action law suits for anything these lawyers can think of at least they will be able to protect themselves if they terminate someone who has taken too much time off. If you left it up to managers and one fired someone, some lawyer would have a class action lawsuit and get thousands of exemployees to say they had been treated unfair. I don't think some one that has a good working record will have to worry about being terminated if they have to be off sick for awhile. As far as WalMart not paying as much as Target and other retailers,I think you had better check before you talk. The Unions have been after WalMart because they want the dues and control, not because they care about the employees.

that rule is crazy. i work for pathmark. ok i said it. anyways they tell us to take sick time to save hours in our store. DOING THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL they force us to take it. Now when we are really sick and we dont have anymore time left we get screwed for it. I hope this walmart thing dont get passed to other companies. As of next yr they can ask me all they want for using up my sick time in less than 3 months. I will tell them to shove it.

Walmart is a moshpit of the diseased and desperate of America. I would suspect you would need a pretty healthy constitution to survive.