Walmart Revamps Employee Sick-Leave Policy to Improve Attendance

Walmart Inc. is making sweeping changes to its employment policies this month, granting paid sick leave to hourly workers in the U.S., and, at the same time, possibly making it easier to fire those who miss too many shifts.

Employees restock shelves at Walmart

Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

Effective Feb. 2, the revamp standardizes a patchwork of local and regional policies crafted to comply with the growing number of states and municipalities requiring businesses to offer paid sick leave. Now all of Walmart’s store and warehouse workers will be able to earn as many as 48 hours of what it calls “Protected Paid Time Off,” which is classified ...