Walmart pregnancy policy: accommodations and leave

Walmart pregnancy policy involves several different requests: changes that help you keep working, time off for pregnancy or childbirth, and paid maternity or parental benefits. Start by telling your manager or People Partner what you need. A request for a stool, water or bathroom breaks does not automatically require a doctor's note.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) protects qualified employees who need a reasonable accommodation for a pregnancy-related limitation. Below are the request steps, documentation rules and leave options.

What does the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act require?

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act took effect on June 27, 2023. It covers employers with 15 or more employees, including Walmart. The EEOC's regulation took effect on June 18, 2024.

You, or someone speaking for you, must tell the employer about a limitation related to pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition and the change you need at work. You do not need a special form or legal wording to start. The limitation can be minor or temporary; it does not have to meet the ADA's definition of a disability.

For a qualified employee, the employer must provide a reasonable accommodation unless it would cause undue hardship, meaning significant difficulty or expense. You and the employer discuss what will address the limitation. This discussion is called the interactive process.

Walmart cannot require you to take leave if another reasonable accommodation would let you keep working. It also cannot require you to accept an accommodation that was not reached through the interactive process.

How to request a pregnancy accommodation at Walmart

1. Tell your manager or People Partner what you need. Name the task or working condition that is difficult and explain that the limitation is pregnancy-related.
2. Ask for a specific change. For example, request access to water, extra restroom breaks, a stool or help with lifting. Give the expected duration if you know it.
3. Ask how the request will be handled. Find out whether a job adjustment can be arranged locally or whether the Accommodation Service Center (ASC) needs to review it. Ask about an interim adjustment while the request is pending.
4. Keep a written record. Save the request, response and any case number. If documentation is requested, check the limits below and follow the instructions in your current packet.

Walmart's published 2024 accommodation instructions describe management review and referral to ASC. Your People Partner can confirm the current procedure for your location. A written follow-up is useful even though the PWFA allows a verbal request.

What changed at Walmart?

The public record, in order.

In 2014, Walmart revised its policy so that pregnancy-related temporary disabilities fell under its disability accommodation policy. A public backgrounder from A Better Balance documents it.

In June 2018, Walmart announced that pregnant associates could ask for "job adjustments, reasonable accommodations, and now, Temporary Alternative Duty." TAD was described as a program that, in most states, Walmart had previously reserved for workers with on-the-job injuries. The 2018 announcement named light duty or a temporary transfer to a less physically demanding position, and breaks to drink water, as examples.

In August 2022, the Seventh Circuit decided EEOC v. Wal-Mart Stores East. The court held that an earlier policy at a Wisconsin distribution center, light duty for work-injury restrictions but not for off-the-job injuries or pregnancy, did not violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, because Walmart acted pursuant to a neutral workers' compensation program. That ruling, as HR Dive reported it, addressed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and a policy that predated the 2018 change.

Since June 27, 2023, the PWFA has set the standard for every employer with 15 or more employees, Walmart included. Light duty is on the EEOC's own list of possible accommodations. An older restriction on light duty does not resolve a request under the PWFA. The PWFA doesn't make light duty automatic; it makes it one of the accommodations an employer has to consider, unless it would be an undue hardship. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act still applies alongside it.

What Walmart does with any individual request is still Walmart's decision. The PWFA changes what it has to consider before answering, and what it may not do in the answer.

Certicare is not affiliated with Walmart. Walmart makes the final decision on leave and accommodation requests. This page is general information about the leave process, not legal advice.

What can you ask for?

The EEOC's PWFA page carries a list of example accommodations, and Walmart's own 2018 announcement named some of the same ones. What you ask for should match your limitation; the interactive process is where the specifics get worked out.

More breaks, and water where you work

Additional breaks and flexible food and drink policies are both on the EEOC's list. Walmart's 2018 announcement named "breaks to drink water" as one of its examples. Ask for the specific thing: a water bottle at your position, or a bathroom break that doesn't wait on coverage.

Sitting, standing, or a stool

The EEOC lists equipment changes, and a stool at a register or a workstation is the everyday version. Its documentation guidance treats standing and sitting as basic current-pregnancy needs, which matters in the next section.

A lifting limit or a temporary reassignment

Light duty, temporary reassignment, and suspension of a job function are all on the EEOC's list. Walmart's 2018 announcement named light duty or a temporary transfer to a less physically demanding position. The general rules for restrictions and light duty at Walmart are on their own page; this one stays with what the PWFA adds.

Schedule changes and time for appointments

Schedule adjustments, telework where the job allows it, and leave for medical appointments are on the list. For an hourly store job, the realistic asks are a shift change, a shorter shift, and time off for prenatal appointments requested in advance.

Leave to recover from childbirth

Leave to recover from childbirth is on the EEOC's list as an accommodation in its own right, separate from FMLA. Your provider can estimate the time medically needed. The accommodation review determines how that request can be addressed; there is no single leave length for every pregnancy.

Do you need a doctor's note?

Not for every request. The EEOC's PWFA guidance says medical documentation is not reasonable when both the limitation and the need for an adjustment are obvious or already known. It also identifies requests where documentation should not be required:

• During pregnancy, carrying or keeping water nearby and drinking as needed.
• Additional bathroom breaks, breaks to eat or drink, or sitting instead of standing and standing instead of sitting.
• Adjustments related to lactation.
• Requests for which the employer would not normally require documentation under its policies or practices.

A lifting restriction, reassignment or leave request does not automatically justify a demand for medical records. When documentation is reasonable, the employer may seek confirmation of the physical or mental condition, its relationship to pregnancy or childbirth, and the adjustment needed. A diagnosis is not necessarily required. You do not have to establish an ADA disability to qualify under the PWFA.

If a form is needed, ask your provider to explain the limitation and the change that would help. Include an estimated duration or reassessment date when known. Needs can change during pregnancy and continue after childbirth.

Ask your OB or midwife first. If you need another option, Certicare's workplace accommodation paperwork service is available. A state-licensed provider reviews the request and completes documentation when clinically supported. You receive the completed form to submit; Walmart decides the accommodation request.

How does leave fit in?

Pregnancy accommodations, FMLA and paid maternity benefits have different rules. A change at work may let you stay on the job. Leave covers time away, while a pay benefit replaces some or all of your wages if you qualify.

FMLA for pregnancy, birth and bonding

Under 29 CFR 825.110, the usual FMLA eligibility tests are at least 12 months of employment, at least 1,250 hours worked in the preceding 12 months, and a worksite with at least 50 employees within 75 miles.

For an eligible employee, FMLA can cover prenatal care, incapacity due to pregnancy, childbirth recovery and bonding with a newborn. Pregnancy-related incapacity does not have to last more than three days to qualify. Bonding leave must be taken within 12 months after birth. See the federal pregnancy and birth rules.

If you do not qualify for FMLA, ask about leave as a PWFA accommodation and Walmart's other leave options. Walmart's hourly leave overview lists Personal Leave for some medical situations from the date of hire. Availability does not mean every request is automatically approved. Our guide to Walmart leave without FMLA explains what to ask next.

Is Walmart maternity leave paid?

For eligible full-time hourly associates, Walmart's 2026 Associate Benefits Book lists up to nine weeks of maternity benefits at 100% of average weekly wages after a seven-calendar-day waiting period. The plan's rules apply, and state benefits may reduce the amount the plan pays. Parental pay is separate and cannot be received at the same time as maternity disability benefits. Confirm your coverage, leave start date and parental-pay eligibility in OneWalmart and your claim packet.

FMLA itself is unpaid job-protected leave. A paid benefit and FMLA may cover the same dates; one approval does not establish eligibility for every program.

How should I report a pregnancy-related absence?

Use Walmart's required absence-reporting process and tell your manager or People Partner that the absence is pregnancy-related. Ask how it should be recorded and whether you need an accommodation or leave request. Keep confirmation numbers and copies of any approval.

For leave, the 2026 benefits book directs associates to OneWalmart's leave page and mySedgwick, or 800-492-5678. Follow the case packet's instructions and deadlines. Ask how to report additional absences while the request is pending.

If attendance points appear, ask for a review of the specific dates and the applicable pregnancy or approved-leave policy. A doctor's note by itself does not show how an absence has been coded. The Walmart leave options finder can help you identify which type of request to discuss.

What if you're told no?

Ask for the reason in writing. A verbal refusal from a manager does not have to end the discussion. Ask your People Partner or ASC to review the request and whether another effective adjustment would meet your needs.

If the issue is documentation, ask what information is missing and why it is needed. The PWFA's limits on medical documentation still apply. If the issue is undue hardship, ask what difficulty or expense the proposed adjustment would cause and discuss alternatives.

Walmart cannot require leave when another reasonable accommodation would let you keep working. For help with the request process, see how to request an accommodation at Walmart.

The EEOC enforces the PWFA and explains how to raise a concern about discrimination or retaliation. Filing deadlines can apply, so seek guidance promptly if you believe your rights have been violated.

If appropriate medical documentation is still needed, Certicare can evaluate your request. Documentation depends on the provider's clinical findings and does not guarantee approval of leave or an accommodation.