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Recently, an argument between a Walmart employee and her supervisor at the Madison, Alabama location ended with the worker being fired. However, the reason for her termination has drawn a lot of attention to what many view as an impossibly strict system that punishes workers for simply being human and dealing with normal health problems.
Here’s What Happened
The employee had texted her coach one morning at around 7:35 a.m. to say she could not come in because she was feeling seriously ill and unable to get out of bed. However, when she returned to work the following day, she was slapped with two attendance points. Believing it was a mistake, she approached her coach to ask that the points be removed from her record.
Although the coach confirmed that she received the employee’s message about being sick the previous day, she remained adamant that being ill was not an acceptable reason to miss work under company policy. The employee questioned that logic and asked what would happen if she came in sick and collapsed in front of customers. The coach responded that in that case, she would be sent home.
The employee said she could not understand why staying home while sick led to punishment while collapsing at work would not. When the coach suggested she file a leave of absence next time, the employee explained that she had already tried to do so through Sedgwick, Walmart’s third-party company that handles employee leave, but her request was denied because she had not yet worked there a full year. As a result, she said she always notified her coach of absences through text or in person but rarely received a response.
The Termination
The employee also brought up another instance where the coach gave her a point for coming in late and leaving early because she had to visit her grandmother, who was gravely ill in the hospital. According to the worker, the coach had brushed off her complaint at the time, saying that she too had been at work when her son died.
The breaking point came when the frustrated employee remarked that next time she was sick, she would just come in and pass out at work. The coach immediately replied, “Okay, so there’s not going to be a next time, cause I’m terminating you.” As she handed over her badge and vest, the employee said, “You sit here and you basically want people to die for a job.”
Here’s What People Are Saying About the Madison Walmart Employee Termination
Several people shared similar stories of being punished at work for being sick or injured. One person commented, “They did me the same way!! Told me they don’t take doctor’s excuses but when I came to work they sent me home saying I looked too sick.” Someone else wrote, “My job did this to me… terminated me for being in and out of the hospital.”
Some netizens said the incident reflected what they already knew about that Walmart location. “That explains why they never have employees cause look how yall treat em,” one said. Another former worker added, “I don’t miss working at that Walmart at all.” A few also suggested the coach might have been unfairly targeting the employee, with one writing, “This is an ethical situation, call ethics. Sounds like she is targeting you and is.”
Other remarks focused on how companies value profit over people. One person said, “In the workplace you’re just a number. Working through any health condition is too much you’re still human.” Another wrote, “I’m so sorry. These places do not care about you and it’s disgusting.”
