Points, PPTO, and Protected Absences: How Walmart Attendance Actually Works
Plain answers about your points and PPTO — from Certicare, where a state-licensed provider completes the Sedgwick paperwork your leave needs after a real evaluation.
Start My IntakeBoth tracks assume the request goes through — Walmart makes the final decision on approval.
How do Walmart attendance points actually work?
An occurrence is what Walmart calls a point on your attendance record. It lands when you miss, arrive late for, or leave early from a scheduled shift without something protecting that time — PPTO is one thing that protects it, and so is time already covered by an approved leave.
Points sit on a rolling window, not a permanent tally. Older ones drop off as you keep working, on a timeline your store's attendance policy sets — and that policy is also where the real number lives for how many points move you into termination territory. It varies by store and it changes, so a number from a forum thread or a coworker who left two years ago isn't the one to trust. Ask your People Lead or check the attendance policy posted for your store.
If you're brand new to how Walmart's leave process works overall, our full Walmart guide walks through the basics.
What does Certicare actually complete?
Sedgwick's certification is the form that turns "I was sick" into "this is documented and on file with Sedgwick." Certicare's state-licensed provider completes and signs that certification after a real evaluation — the same kind of provider-completed form Certicare has done for years, just routed through Sedgwick instead of another leave administrator.
The fee is $49 flat, shown before you start, refunded if we can't complete the certification. It's usually done within 24 hours after we have everything Sedgwick's form requires. If Sedgwick comes back wanting verification, clarification, or a correction, that follow-up is handled at no additional charge.
$49 covers this certification: clinical review, and any verification, clarification, or correction Sedgwick asks for on it — at no additional charge. A return-to-work form, a recertification, or an update if your leave changes is a separate case. If your certification hasn't been delivered yet, you can request a full refund.
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.
How many points until you get fired at Walmart?
There's no single number we can give you here, and anyone who states one flatly is guessing. Walmart sets the threshold store by store, and stores update their policies over time.
What stays consistent is the mechanics: points add up, older ones expire off the rolling window, and crossing your store's line triggers corrective action up to termination. The number that matters is the one in your store's current policy — not a number from last year, and not one from a different store. If you're already close to it, the priority is stopping new points from landing while you sort out PPTO, an approved leave, or an accommodation for what's ahead.
Does PPTO cover a point?
Sometimes, and only for the part it actually pays. PPTO shields you from an occurrence for the hours it covers — if regular PTO fills the rest of that same absence, the PTO portion isn't protected from a point.
PPTO generally has to be entered within about 7 days of the absence to protect it — wait longer, and the shift can still draw a point even with PPTO available. It also doesn't reach a No Call/No Show: PPTO can cover your pay for that day, but not the point the No Call/No Show itself carries.
Whether a plain doctor's note removes a point already on your record is a related but different question — see our answer here.
What happens when PPTO runs out?
Once your PPTO balance hits zero, it can't shield the next absence. You have to earn more before it can cover anything again.
That gap, PPTO exhausted but absences still happening, is exactly where an approved leave of absence or accommodation does something PPTO can't: protect the days themselves, not just the pay.
Does an approved leave of absence protect my points even without PPTO?
Yes — and this is the part that trips people up, because a leave certification and a PPTO entry aren't the same kind of protection. PPTO shields specific shifts from points, one absence at a time. An approved leave of absence or accommodation protects the underlying days themselves, under Walmart's LOA process, even though the certification your provider completes for it isn't a PPTO entry and won't show up in your PPTO balance.
The two can work together. PPTO can still cover your pay for a day that's also covered by an approved leave; the leave is what keeps that day from becoming a point in the first place, once it's approved.
Sedgwick administers the process on Walmart's side — intake, the forms, tracking your job-protected leave balance, and coordinating your return to work. Once your leave is approved, the certification is what stands between an absence and an occurrence, not the PPTO line.
Some leaves also qualify under federal FMLA, which can run alongside Walmart's own LOA process rather than replacing it. That's a separate federal layer worth understanding on its own — see our plain-language FMLA guide.
What if my Sedgwick certification comes back insufficient?
Missing or delayed forms are the most common reason Sedgwick denies or delays a leave — that's Walmart's own stated reason, not ours. Three windows matter most: certification is generally due 20 days from your initial packet (or from your first day out, whichever is later), return-to-work certification is generally due at least 3 days before you go back, and intermittent absences under an approved leave generally need to be reported within 2 calendar days.
Miss one of those and the case can stall even when the medical need isn't in question. If Sedgwick has already told you your documentation is insufficient, that's usually fixable — a field wasn't answered the way the form needed it, not that your leave doesn't qualify. See what to do when Sedgwick calls a certification insufficient.
Founded by someone who's been there
Rebecca Martel, APRN, FNP-BC, is a family nurse practitioner who has completed hundreds of these forms. As a neurodivergent person who lost jobs to cyclical burnout early in her career, she knows what's at stake when paperwork stalls.
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You don't need to sort out points, PPTO, and LOA yourself. Complete your intake and we'll take it from there.
Start My IntakeCerticare 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.