Walmart Maternity Leave Policy – A Guide For Expecting Associates

Welcoming a child to the world is an exciting time and something that Walmart embraces within its workforce. However navigating maternity leave policies can be challenging, but Walmart has made strides in recent years to ensure its associates have the support they need during this critical time.

Walmart offers a comprehensive maternity leave policy that caters to the needs of birth mothers, adoptive parents, and non-birth parents. It’s a simple policy that includes up to 16 weeks of paid time off for birth mothers, while new dads, non-birth moms, and adoptive parents receive a generous six weeks of paid parental leave.

With such a supportive policy in place, you can focus on spending time with your newest family member and prepare for the journey ahead.

Before you can take maternity leave, you’ll need to get a few things in order. I’ll get into that process by showing you who to contact, what numbers to dial, the paperwork, how much you can expect to be paid, and everything else you need to know to make your maternity leave as smooth as possible.

Paid Maternity Leave and Benefits

Before you can enjoy the maternity leave benefits, it’s important to make sure you’re actually eligible for it and how that impacts your current and future work schedule, pay, and more. Let’s go over that first.

Eligibility and Details of Paid Maternity Leave

Maternity leave is available to full-time employees. Unfortunately, if you’re part-time, you’ll be out of luck. To qualify for this benefit, you must be a birth mom, new dad, non-birth mom, or adoptive parent working for Walmart in the U.S.

Here’s a brief overview of the paid maternity leave policy:

1. Birth moms: Up to 16 weeks of paid time off.
2. New dads, non-birth moms, and adoptive parents: Six weeks of paid parental leave.

From what I’ve experienced and heard from others, Walmart’s maternity and parental leave policies are subject to certain U.S. state laws. In California, for example, the state has additional benefits and protections available for new parents.

Parental Leave for Dads and Adoptive Parents

While mom is responsible for having the baby, Walmart understands that dad plays a major role too! Fathers are able to also get maternity leave to help assist their spouses, and I think that’s a great move by Walmart.

Paternity Benefits at Walmart

If you are a father working at Walmart, you can take advantage of their paid paternity leave policy. The company provides six weeks of paid parental leave to support dads during this important time of transition. The paid leave applies to both full-time hourly and salaried associates at Walmart

Adoption Benefit Details

In addition to the paternity leave, Walmart also offers a generous adoption benefit for adoptive parents.

When you adopt a child, Walmart additionally offers financial support in the form of a $5,000 reimbursement per child. This financial benefit is intended to help you cover adoption-related expenses, such as agency, travel, and legal fees.

This means you can adopt a newborn, get maternity leave, and also get help with making that process happen. It’s an amazing benefit that most other retailers do not have.

Steps To Requesting Maternity Leave At Walmart

Requesting maternity leave at Walmart is pretty simple. But there are a few things you need to do, such as letting them know your return date, waiting periods, and other details. Here’s the process:

1. To request maternity leave at Walmart, employees need to contact Sedgwick either online or by phone and provide their Walmart Identification Number (WIN), work schedule, last day worked, estimated due date, and healthcare provider’s information.
2. Employees need to complete and return the release of information found in their initial packet to Sedgwick by fax, email, or upload to mySedgwick.com. They also need to complete medical certification forms and return them to Sedgwick before the medical due date.
3. Employees can track their leave with mySedgwick and use PTO to get paid during the seven-calendar-day waiting period.
4. Employees need to notify their manager before they plan to return to work and provide the completed return-to-work certification to their facility on their first day back. If they have restrictions and need special accommodations, they need to work with Sedgwick and the Accommodations Service Center to make necessary arrangements.

How Payments Work While On Maternity Leave At Walmart

If you’re wondering how much you get paid while on maternity leave, that depends on your previous payment history. Walmart bases it all on the form you fill out, so it’s important to be as accurate as you can with taht information.

For maternity leave, hourly associates will be asked for their past 26 weeks of pay information. Walmart then calculates all of that to get an average, and then that’s what they’ll pay out to you. Some of this will be averaged, and the average will be the amount paid to associates while on maternity leave.

However, other positions may have different calculations, so be sure to check. For example, drivers’ average daily pay rate is used to determine the maternity leave pay.

Walmart’s Parental Support Resources

Any good maternity leave policy typically comes with plenty of support in addition to that time off. Walmart provides really helpful and supportive resources for parents, including their “Resources for Living” program and the Walmart Medical Plan.

The “Resources for Living” program is designed to assist Walmart employees with numerous aspects related to:

1. Work-life balance
2. Parenting support
3. Financial counseling
4. Legal Guidance

Inclusions of the Walmart Medical Plan

The Walmart Medical Plan offers a particularly supportive environment for parents-to-be or those starting or expanding their families. Some of the key inclusions of the plan are:

• Maternity coverage: Walmart’s Medical Plan covers maternity care, which includes prenatal care, delivery services, and postnatal care.
• Parental leave: Walmart offers ten weeks of paid maternity leave and six weeks of paid paternity leave to full-time hourly associates, ensuring they have adequate time off to bond with their newborns or newly adopted children.
• Adoption benefits: Walmart provides financial assistance to employees who decide to adopt children, thus making the process more accessible and less stressful.
• Centers of Excellence (COE): This program offers Walmart employees access to a nationwide network of top-quality healthcare providers for various procedures and treatments, including fertility services.

A Few Tips To Help Your Maternity Leave Go Smoothly

1. Understand the eligibility requirements: Make sure you meet the eligibility requirements for Walmart’s maternity leave policy, which include being a full-time who has worked at Walmart for at least 12 months.
2. Plan ahead: Start planning for your maternity leave as early as possible. Talk to your manager about your plans and discuss any concerns or questions you may have.
3. Know your options: Walmart offers several options for maternity leave, including paid parental leave, short-term disability, and FMLA leave. Make sure you understand the benefits and limitations of each option and choose the one that works best for you.
4. Stay in touch: Stay in touch with your manager and colleagues while you are on maternity leave. This can help you stay connected to your work and make the transition back to work smoother.
5. Take advantage of resources: Walmart offers several resources and support programs for new parents, including lactation rooms, parenting classes, and employee assistance programs. Make sure you take advantage of these resources to help you navigate the challenges of parenthood.