Employer sick-note rules · retail
Does Walmart accept an online doctor’s note?
A note by itself does not remove an attendance point at Walmart. The absence is protected by Protected PTO, or by an approved leave through Sedgwick, which needs a medical certification within 20 days. That is where a physician's documentation counts.
What Walmart workers are told
Absences tracked
Points system: secondary sources describe 1 point for an unplanned absence (0.5 for a late arrival or early departure; double on key event dates), 5 points in a rolling 6 months = termination. Not published by Walmart; treat point values as employee-reported.
Note required
A doctor's note by itself does not remove a point. The absence is protected by (a) covering it with Protected PTO (PPTO) within 7 days of the absence (Walmart's PPTO FAQ), or (b) an approved leave of absence through Sedgwick, which requires a medical certification, not a plain note.
Where to submit
Leave: file online at mySedgwick.com/walmart or call Sedgwick 800-492-5678; return medical certification by fax 859-264-4372, email WalmartForms@Sedgwicksir.com, or upload to mySedgwick. Intermittent absences must be reported to Sedgwick within 2 calendar days.
Leave administrator
Sedgwick (Lincoln Financial for HI/NJ/NY disability benefits)
Paid sick time
PTO plus Protected PTO (PPTO) for hourly associates (PPTO launched 2019); PPTO use prevents attendance occurrences.
Verified against the company’s own published policy · 2026-09-23
What a SickSlip note shows Walmart HR
The physician’s name and NPI number, the dates you are excused, a document ID, and a verification link HR can open without calling anyone. It does not include your diagnosis. Whether Walmart accepts it depends on the rule above, not on where the physician saw you: no US state law limits a sick note to in-person visits, and the federal telehealth rules are on telehealth.hhs.gov.
Your state may limit what Walmart can demand
Twenty states and the District of Columbia have a paid-sick-leave law, and most of them only let an employer ask for a note after three consecutive days. Company policy cannot override that. Check yours in the state-by-state doctor’s note law index.
Sources, read 2026-09-23
- Hourly associate guide to taking a medical leave of absence (Walmart, 2023) (official, read 2026-09-23) “Request a leave online at mySedgwick.com or by phone at 800-492-5678.”
- Taking a Leave of Absence (LOA) , Walmart (official, read 2026-09-23) “Your claim may be denied if Sedgwick does not receive your completed Attending Physician Statement and/or Medical Certification within 20 days.”
- Walmart to pay hourly workers for sick leave in overhaul of employment policies (Fortune, 2019) (news, read 2026-09-23) “walmart to pay hourly workers for sick leave in overhaul of employment policies”
- Protected Paid Time Off (PPTO) FAQs for Associates (Walmart, WM-Associate-FAQs 041524) (official, read 2026-09-23) “You have seven days from the date of an absence to enter PPTO for absence protection. The balance of PPTO you had on the calendar day of the submitted request will be applied to attendance points that”
- Walmart Attendance Policy 2026: Fired At 5? (The Future Warehouse, Jan 15 2025) (other, read 2026-09-23) “Generally, Walmart does not accept standard doctor's notes to excuse routine absences or manually remove points from your record.”
The rules that sit above Walmart’s policy
- Federal leave (FMLA). An employer may require medical certification for a serious health condition, and must give you at least 15 calendar days to return it. 29 CFR 825.305 and U.S. Department of Labor Fact Sheet 28G.
- Disability (ADA). Points systems applied to disability-related absences have been challenged; medical inquiries must be job-related and consistent with business necessity. EEOC enforcement guidance.
- State paid-sick-leave law. Twenty states and D.C. limit when any employer, Walmart included, may demand a note. Every state’s rule, with the statute.
- Telehealth. Federal guidance treats secure messaging with a licensed provider as telehealth; no state law limits a sick note to in-person visits. telehealth.hhs.gov.
Other retail employers
Target · Lowe's · Costco · Kroger · Best Buy · H-E-B · Whole Foods Market · AutoZone
All employers
Amazon · Target · UPS · FedEx · Starbucks · Lowe's · Costco · Kroger · Chipotle · USPS · Tesla · Disney parks · Southwest Airlines · United Airlines · Best Buy · H-E-B · Whole Foods Market · Taco Bell · Wendy's · Panera Bread · HCA Healthcare · Kaiser Permanente · Verizon · Tyson Foods · JBS USA · General Motors · Stellantis · Boeing · Uber · DoorDash · AutoZone
SickSlip is not affiliated with Walmart. Employer names are used to describe their published policies. Reviewed by Adam Z. Kawalek, MD (NPI 1326223306). Facts checked 2026-09-23.