Walmart Jury Duty Policy In 2023: Everything Employees Need To Know
If you‘re a Walmart employee who has received a jury duty summons, you probably have a lot of questions about how this will impact your work schedule and your pay. Balancing civic responsibilities with your job obligations can be nerve-wracking.
But the good news is that Walmart has policies in place to accommodate associates serving jury duty. As an experienced ecommerce professional, I‘ll explain Walmart‘s jury duty protocols in this comprehensive guide. I‘ll share key details on how pay works, scheduling, postponements, and strategies to make this go smoothly for you and your manager.
Does Walmart Pay Your Salary While on Jury Duty?
I‘m sure your first question is – will I still get paid? The answer is yes. Here‘s how it works:
- Hourly associates receive Paid Time Off (PTO) to cover scheduled hours missed due to jury duty
- Salaried managers and corporate staff continue receiving their normal salary during jury duty service
Your PTO pay rate will match your usual hourly wage. The amount depends on how much PTO you‘ve accrued.
Walmart calculates PTO accrual based on regular hours worked and years of service. Overtime, cash-outs, and termination payouts don‘t apply. The longer you‘ve worked at Walmart, the more paid time off you‘ll have earned.
| Years of Service | PTO Hours Accrued Per 40 Hours Worked |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 1 hour |
| 1-4 years | 1.5 hours |
| 5-9 years | 2 hours |
| 10-19 years | 2.5 hours |
| 20+ years | 3 hours |
In addition to PTO, you‘ll receive the standard juror pay from the court system – usually $10-$50 per day depending on your jurisdiction.
So to summarize, you‘ll continue earning income while on jury duty through a combination of your PTO balance and juror pay.
Notifying Your Manager About Jury Summons
The most important thing is alerting your manager as soon as you receive a jury summons.
Provide them a copy of the summons that shows the date, time, location and estimated duration. Discuss how long you expect to be out and any schedule changes needed to accommodate it.
This heads up allows your manager to plan staffing and get your time off approved through the proper channels. It‘s key to be proactive, so your manager isn‘t blindsided by an abrupt schedule change.
Walmart does not allow any retaliation against associates serving jury duty. However, you want to keep the lines of communication open. Check in after you‘ve appeared for the selection process and again once you‘re excused from service.
Scheduling Your Shift Around Jury Duty
Walmart understands you have no control over when you‘ll be summoned for jury service. However, you‘re expected to work normal schedules when not required to be at the court.
For example, if jury duty runs only from 9am to 3pm, you‘d still work your usual morning or evening shift that same day. Be sure to coordinate timing with your manager.
You should also save your jury duty confirmation # provided by the court. You may need this to validate your service to payroll.
Can You Get Excused from Jury Duty?
I realize some associates want to know – can I get out of this? The reality is Walmart can‘t exempt you from obeying a jury summons. However, here are some scenarios where you could request a postponement:
- Jury service would create undue staffing hardships at your facility
- You have a major financial need and can‘t afford lost wages
- You planned a trip or vacation you can‘t reschedule
- You have childcare or eldercare obligations that can‘t be managed otherwise
- You have a medical condition that prevents you from serving
For Walmart to formally back a postponement request, your manager must confirm it would significantly impact operations.
If allowed, the court will likely ask you to provide an alternate date rather than a full exemption. So postponement just delays the inevitability of duty. Still, it can buy you time if the original date is truly problematic.
How Jury Duty Pay Works with Regular PTO
Jury duty pay comes out of your PTO balance like any other time off. Here‘s how that interacts with accruals and other absences:
PTO will continue accruing based on regular hours worked before/after your service period.
If you are temporarily out of PTO when jury duty occurs, those days are unpaid.
Once you begin accruing PTO again, it will replenish time used for jury service first.
Any additional absences aside from jury duty also draw from your PTO balance as usual.
To avoid losing income, it‘s smart to bank as much PTO as possible prior to your summons. Let‘s look at some examples:
Example 1:
- Sue has 20 hours of accrued PTO when she‘s called for a 2-day jury trial
- She uses 16 hours of PTO to cover her scheduled shifts
- She continues accruing her normal PTO on days before/after so her balance is quickly restored
Example 2:
- Nick recently used PTO for a vacation
- When he‘s summoned for jury duty, his PTO balance is zero
- His jury service days are unpaid since no PTO is available
- Once he starts accruing again, future PTO earnings repay the time he missed
The key takeaway is to proactively manage your schedule and PTO balance around expected jury duty dates. This will help avoid unpaid absences.
How Much Does Walmart Pay Associates in Different States?
Hourly wages for Walmart associates vary based on position, experience level, and location. Here are some average per hour rates:
| State | Average Hourly Pay |
|---|---|
| North Carolina | $12 |
| Tennessee | $12 |
| Alabama | $11 |
Management roles like department supervisors generally make $15-$19 per hour depending on the state.
Specialized positions such as auto care technicians or vision center managers earn around $18-$23 per hour based on Glassdoor data.
Regardless of base pay differences between states, all associates receive their normal hourly wage as PTO when out for jury duty.
Key Takeaways on Walmart‘s Jury Duty Policy
I know I‘ve covered a lot of ground in this guide. To summarize Walmart‘s jury duty policy:
- Hourly associates get paid via PTO based on accrual rate
- Salaried managers receive normal salary uninterrupted
- Provide summons to manager ASAP for scheduling
- Work other hours when not required at court
- Requests to postpone are only valid for extreme hardships
- Carefully manage PTO balance to avoid unpaid absences
Being called for jury duty can disrupt your routine. But understanding Walmart‘s processes and planning ahead will make this civic duty far less stressful. Use this time as an opportunity to fulfill an important contribution to our legal system.
