Walmart accommodations: request steps and medical forms

To request Walmart accommodations, tell your manager, People Lead or People Partner what needs to change at work because of a medical condition. You can start the discussion before a provider completes a form. Explain the task that is difficult and the adjustment you need.

Walmart accommodation phone number: 855-489-1600. Walmart's published 2024 instructions list this number for the Accommodation Service Center (ASC) at Sedgwick, with hours of Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Central. Confirm current contact details in your case packet or with your People Partner.

This guide covers changes at work and the medical questionnaire that may support them. Time away can also be an accommodation. If you need leave, ask which leave request and Sedgwick certification apply to your situation.

What counts as an accommodation at Walmart?

Under the ADA, a reasonable accommodation is a change that gives a qualified person with a disability an equal opportunity to work, apply for a job or use workplace benefits. The EEOC's guidance includes changes to equipment, work schedules, policies and how certain tasks are performed. The employer must consider an effective accommodation unless it would cause undue hardship.

A job adjustment

Some straightforward changes can be handled at the facility. Walmart's published instructions include a form to record an approved job adjustment. Ask for a copy showing the adjustment, any limits and how long it applies.

A reasonable accommodation

Examples can include a modified schedule, a stool, an assistive device, changes to nonessential tasks or reassignment to a suitable vacant position. The right option depends on the job and the limitation. Under the ADA, an employer generally does not have to remove an essential job duty or create a new position, but it must consider effective options.

Pregnancy-related needs also have protections under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. These can apply even when the limitation is not an ADA disability. Our Walmart pregnancy guide explains those rules and when a doctor's note is not required.

Temporary Alternative Duty

Temporary Alternative Duty, or TAD, is a term Walmart uses for temporary modified work. Ask your People Partner whether that program or another accommodation process applies to your restrictions. A restriction note alone does not establish that a particular assignment is available. See Walmart restrictions and light duty for the questions to ask.

Where does the request go?

Start with your manager or People Partner, as Walmart's public contact guidance directs current associates to do. Under the ADA, the request can be verbal and does not need legal wording. A brief written follow-up helps you track what you asked for and when.

How to request an accommodation, step by step

1. Describe the work problem. Identify the task or schedule affected by your medical condition and the change that would help.
2. Ask who will handle the request. Find out whether a local adjustment is possible or whether you need ASC review. If referred to ASC, have your Walmart Identification Number (WIN) ready.
3. Get the current instructions. Ask which forms, if any, are needed, where to submit them and when they are due. Keep the case number.
4. Give your provider the relevant information. Include the questionnaire, job duties, work schedule and any existing restrictions. Ask for a clinical assessment of what is needed.
5. Confirm receipt and the next step. Save your submission confirmation. Ask about temporary arrangements while the request is reviewed and get the eventual decision in writing.

A short message you can adapt

Because of a medical condition, I am having difficulty with [task or schedule]. I would like to discuss [requested change] for [expected duration, if known]. Please let me know who will handle the request, whether supporting documentation is needed, and what arrangements are available while it is reviewed.

Walmart's accommodation instructions describe management review and referral to ASC at Sedgwick. A 2025 federal court order also describes a process in which ASC gathers relevant information and evaluates the request. Use the current instructions for your case; a court record describes the process at issue in that case.

Certicare is not affiliated with Walmart. Walmart decides leave and accommodation requests. Certicare can provide medical documentation when supported by a clinical evaluation.

What does your provider have to fill out?

Your packet may include an accommodation medical questionnaire and an authorization to obtain relevant medical information. Use the forms supplied for your case. Not every request requires a questionnaire: under EEOC guidance, an employer cannot demand documentation when both the disability and need are obvious, or when sufficient information has already been provided.

When documentation is reasonably needed, it should explain how the condition affects function and why an adjustment is necessary. Give your provider:

• The actual job duties: lifting, standing, walking, concentration, communication or other tasks affected.
• Your schedule: shift length, number of days, overtime and any work pattern that affects the limitation.
• The requested change: such as a lifting limit, seated work, a shorter shift or breaks. The provider determines what the clinical findings support.
• The time period: when the limitation began and its expected duration or reassessment date, if known.
• The case instructions: case number, submission route, due date and any questions requiring clarification.

Specific limits are easier to evaluate than a statement such as “light duty.” The documentation may also need enough medical information to establish a covered disability. It should not include unrelated history or your entire medical chart.

Who can see the medical information?

The ADA requires confidential handling of medical information, separately from ordinary personnel records. Managers may be told about necessary work restrictions and accommodations. Ask ASC which recipient should receive the medical questionnaire and which information your store needs to implement the adjustment.

If your provider cannot complete the form

Certicare's workplace accommodation paperwork service is another option. A state-licensed provider reviews the history, job demands and requested changes, then completes documentation when clinically supported. You receive the completed paperwork to submit. Medical documentation supports the review; it does not guarantee a specific accommodation.

How long does it take?

There is no single decision time we can promise for your case. The EEOC expects employers to respond promptly and avoid unnecessary delays. The time needed may depend on missing information, possible alternatives and what is required to put an adjustment in place.

Track the date you first requested help, when the case opened, when you submitted documents and the next response date. If you cannot meet a deadline in the packet, ask the case team about an extension before it expires and keep the response.

If you have not heard back, ask: Has the paperwork been received? Is anything missing? Who is reviewing it? When should I follow up? What can be arranged in the meantime?

If an assigned task conflicts with your provider's restrictions, tell your manager and ask for specific interim instructions. Do not assume that an open case, by itself, confirms a schedule change or approves an absence.

What if it's denied?

Read the reason and any reconsideration instructions. A request for missing information is different from a final denial. Under EEOC guidance, if medical documentation is insufficient, the employer should explain what is missing and allow an opportunity to provide it.

If a manager refuses the request, ask for further review. Walmart's Ethics FAQ directs associates to management, their People Lead or Ethics & Compliance when an accommodation request is refused.

They offered something different

Under the ADA, the employer may choose an effective alternative to the accommodation you prefer. Compare it with the limitation on your form. If it still requires a task you cannot perform, explain that specific problem and ask your provider whether clarification is needed.

They said undue hardship

Undue hardship means significant difficulty or expense and requires an individualized assessment. Ask for the reason and whether another effective option would address the limitation. Keep the written response and any instructions for reconsideration.

What you need is time off

Unpaid leave can be a reasonable accommodation when it enables an employee with a disability to return to work. The EEOC's leave guidance says an employer must consider it even if the employee does not qualify under the employer's ordinary leave policy, unless it would cause undue hardship. Approval is not automatic, and an indefinite absence with no indication whether or when work can resume does not have to be granted.

Ask which forms apply to the leave request and whether a return estimate or reassessment date is needed. See Walmart leave when you are not FMLA-eligible.

Can you be written up while it's pending?

The ADA prohibits retaliation for requesting an accommodation. That does not mean every later write-up is retaliation or that unrelated performance and conduct requirements disappear. The reason for the action and the circumstances matter.

Keep following required absence-reporting procedures and ask how absences connected to your request will be handled. An open accommodation case is not itself confirmation that a missed shift has been approved. Attendance rules may need reasonable modification for a disability, depending on the circumstances.

Keep the request, case number, submissions, responses and any write-up together. Ask for review if a record appears inconsistent with an approved adjustment or leave. For attendance points after a leave approval, see approved leave but still getting points.

If you believe discrimination or retaliation occurred, the EEOC can explain the charge process and filing deadlines. An internal review and an EEOC charge are separate processes.