701 8th Street, NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20001 Phone: 202.434.0999 Fax: 202.737.6069 www.walmart.com May 19, 2020 The Honorable Elizabeth Warren 309 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Edward Markey 255 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Richard Neal 2309 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable James McGovern 408 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Stephen Lynch 2109 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Katherine Clark 2448 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Seth Moulton 1127 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Ayanna Pressley 1108 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Lori Trahan 1616 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Joseph P. Kennedy III 304 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable William Keating 2351 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Senator Warren, Senator Markey, Representative Neal, Representative McGovern, Representative Lynch, Representative Clark, Representative Moulton, Representative Pressley, Representative Trahan, Representative Kennedy, and Representative Keating: Thank you for your letter to our CEO Doug McMillon, dated May 7, 2020. It has been inspiring to see Walmart associates step up to the challenge of serving America in recent months. During a very uncertain and stressful time, they have done their jobs with calm, compassion, and excellence. We recognize and appreciate the critical role our associates are playing in ensuring that communities continue to have access to fresh food, medicine and critical supplies during this crisis. Our 1.5 million associates in the United States are not immune to the impact of COVID-19. With stores, clubs and other facilities located within 10 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population, the health of our associates tends to track the health of the country as a whole. A number of our associates have had diagnosed or suspected cases of COVID-19, and they are using our expanded paid leave options to get well. Sadly, we have also had associates pass away, and we feel their loss deeply. We are following the evolving guidance of public health agencies and experts and we have quickly taken steps aimed at keeping our customers and associates safe, including requiring associates to wear face coverings/masks, and making masks and gloves available to all associates, limiting the hours and number of customers in our stores and clubs, deep cleaning facilities, taking temperature checks and health screenings of associates, installing plexiglass guards and implementing social distancing measures in all of our facilities. Our operations teams are working tirelessly to ensure that these measures are being implemented in a consistent and timely fashion across our over 5,000 locations. We also are urging our customers to follow social distancing recommendations. We monitor the communities where we have facilities to determine if additional measures are appropriate, including third party cleaning and temporary closure. In addition, we have a protocol, outlined in more detail below, for when a facility manager learns of a positive case in their store/facility. Massachusetts is suffering from a high rate of coronavirus cases, and several of our stores located in some of the state’s hot spots have also been hit hard by the pandemic. It may be impossible to track the source of anyone’s infection, especially in some of these communities that have felt the devastating impact of the virus. We did have five stores in Massachusetts that were temporarily closed over the last several weeks for different periods of time – in Abington, Avon, Quincy, Springfield and Worcester. Our field teams have been working in close collaboration with local and state elected and public health officials in response to the situation. This response has included implementing testing of our associates at those store locations. These stores have all been reopened with the approval of local health departments and state officials and we continue to monitor them. As we worked closely with city officials, several commented on the policies and procedures that the company had implemented and our response to their concerns regarding the health and safety of associates and customers: • Tom Koch, the Mayor of Quincy, noted that, “The [city’s] health commissioner has been in touch with corporate Walmart. They made a decision on their own to close down, go through the whole facility, clean it all once again, and test all their employees to see what other positive cases they may have.”1 • The Quincy Health Commissioner, Ruth Jones, added, “They have cleaned and disinfected three times in there, and they have enough negative-testing employees to run it at a lower capacity, which is what they’re doing. We’re still waiting on 30 or so test results to come back, but we’re getting those throughout the day. I have a lot of negatives coming in.” 2 • Dr. Michael Hirsh, medical director for the Division of Public Health in Worcester, stated, “If you’re doing your routine kind of shopping, you’re probably not going to have that close contact, so we would not fear that many people would return positive from a shopping experience at Walmart.”3 • Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. commented on the testing, “They’ve been very cooperative in the process of getting all their employees tested, I think it was a pretty big undertaking to get almost 400 people tested within a few-day window.”4 1 Boston.com, “Walmart in Quincy Closed After Employee Dies From The Coronavirus,” Dialynn Dwyer, May 5, 2020, https://www.boston.com/news/coronavirus/2020/05/05/quincy-walmart-employee-death-covid-19 2 Quincy Patriot Ledger, “Quincy Walmart Reopens After Coronavirus Closure,” Mary Whitfill, May 11, 2020, https://www.wickedlocal.com/news/20200511/quincy-walmart-reopens-after-coronavirus-closure 3 WCBV, “Worcester Walmart To Reopen Within Days Following Coronavirus Outbreak,” May 3, 2020, https://www.wcvb.com/article/worcester-massachusetts-officials-update-on-walmart-coronavirus-outbreak-may-3-2020/32355761# 4 Masslive.com, “Walmart In Worcester Reopens Tuesday With Customer Limitations, New Social Distancing Measures And Sneeze Guards After Employees Tested Positive For Coronavirus,” Michael Bonner, May 5, 2020, https://www.masslive.com/worcester/2020/05/walmart-in-worcester-reopens-tuesday-with-customer-limitations-new-socialdistancing-measures-and-sneeze-guards-after-employees-tested-positive-for-coronavirus.html While the number of associates nationwide who have contracted COVID-19 is slightly better than the current trend of reported cases in the U.S., we will continue to be proactive in our approach to keeping our associates safe. COVID Emergency Paid Leave: On your questions regarding access to paid leave and paid time off, Walmart offers paid sick leave to ALL hourly associates in the U.S., including part time, through protected paid time off (PPTO) in addition to standard paid time off (PTO). Associates can earn up to 48 hours of PPTO each year and can use it if they are sick, need to take care of a family member, or for any other reason - plus, unused time carries over each year. Specific to the current situation, we announced a COVID-19 emergency leave policy on March 10. The details are outlined below: • • • • If a store, club, office or distribution center is part of a mandated quarantine, or if an associate is required to quarantine by their healthcare provider, a government agency or by Walmart, impacted associates will receive up to two weeks of pay. Should an associate have a confirmed case of the virus, they will receive up to two weeks of pay. If they are not able to return to work after that time, additional pay replacement may be provided for up to 26 weeks for both full-time and part-time hourly associates. During this uncertain time, if an associate determines they are unable to work or are uncomfortable at work, they can choose to stay home and we will waive our attendance occurrence policy, so their job is protected. In order to be paid for this time, associates may apply their regular paid time off options. Associates can work with their store and market human resources contacts to request any additional information on these policies and how to request leave. Associate and Customer Health and Safety: We also appreciate the opportunity to provide additional information on our ongoing efforts on associate and customer health and safety. On March 24, we announced that the company would start installing plexiglass barriers (sneeze guards) at our pharmacy lanes (both Walmart and Sam’s Club) and regular Walmart registers. At that time, we noted that it would take 2-3 weeks to implement these measures at scale. On March 31, we announced that we would begin to ask associates questions related to common COVID-19 symptoms and take the temperatures of our associates as they report to work in stores, clubs and facilities. It did take a few weeks to get infrared thermometers fully distributed to store locations given current demand on the thermometer supply. Associates also are encouraged to check their temperature at home. Any associate who is symptomatic or with a temperature of 100.0 degrees or more will be asked to seek medical treatment if necessary. The associate will not be able to return to work until they are fever-free for at least three days. During this time, they will be paid under our emergency COVID policy and their jobs are protected. We also continue to ask associates to look out for other symptoms of the virus (coughing, feeling achy, difficulty breathing) and to not come to work when they do not feel well. On April 9, we announced that we would make face masks and gloves available to all associates per their request. On April 17, we announced that we would begin requiring associates to wear masks or other face coverings at work. This includes our stores, clubs, distribution and fulfillment centers, as well as in our corporate offices. When facility managers become aware that an associate has tested positive for COVID-19, managers have been provided with guidance for help working through each instance, as described below. Examples of what is contained in the guidance for store managers includes, but is not limited to, the following: • • • Discussion with associates – Facility managers meet with associates to inform them in the event of a positive COVID-19 case, and reinforce the cleaning, personal hygiene and social distancing protocols. They remind associates to monitor their health and immediately report any symptoms to a member of management. They also remind associates of the COVID-19 Emergency Leave Policy should they need to utilize it. The privacy of the associate with COVID-19 is respected. Internal reporting – A salaried member of management must report new, confirmed COVID-19 cases through the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Emergency App and report them to their Market-level leaders immediately. The EOC Hotline is also available for reporting. We also monitor the number of associates taking leave under our Emergency Leave Policy. External reporting – We cooperate with and are responsive to national, state, regional, county and municipal Health Departments and similar agencies and officials to help reduce the spread of the virus. We are managing thousands of different, and sometimes conflicting, Emergency Orders and directives. The reporting obligation between Walmart and government agencies depends on the mandate of a particular jurisdiction. We work hard to comply with evolving local laws, orders and requests. Interaction and information-sharing occurs in many ways, but typically happens through our Market leaders working in coordination with our Public Affairs and Compliance team members in the region and the Home Office. Additional Associate Pay and Benefits: In addition to the emergency leave policy, we have implemented some additional pay measures for associates. In late March, we paid special cash bonuses to all hourly associates in the U.S. totaling approximately $365 million. In addition, we accelerated payment of first-quarter MyShare store performance bonuses of nearly $180 million. These MyShare bonuses were distributed to associates on April 30. On May 12, we announced that all hourly associates will be receiving another special cash bonus next month – $300 for full-time associates and drivers, and $150 for part-time and temporary associates. Assistant Managers in stores and clubs will receive a bonus as well. These special bonuses will be paid out on June 25 to hourly associates who are employed in stores, clubs, distribution centers, fulfillment centers and corporate offices as of June 5. This includes the more than 200,000 new hourly associates we have hired since March if they are still employed on June 5. We are glad to be able to give an opportunity to so many Americans to work, often serving as a bridge for employment, while helping Walmart better serve customers during this time of increased demand. Through June, associates in the majority of states will receive free access to Even, a third-party mobile app that offers financial wellness features to help associates with budgeting and saving, as well as instant access to 50 percent of their earned, net wages on a weekly basis. Typically, associates who are on our health plan can access telehealth for $4 per visit. At this time, we are waiving the $4 per visit fee for associates enrolled in Doctor on Demand, which allows nationwide, virtual access to healthcare providers. In a number of states, we are piloting enhancements, including digital care for chronic conditions with physicians assigned to associates, and “one-stop” digital support for all health needs, including finding quality providers, addressing billing issues and even concerns with access. We appreciate the opportunity to provide additional information in response to your questions. For the latest information about all of the company’s COVID-19 related initiatives, please visit https://corporate.walmart.com/here-for-you. If you have any additional questions or would like further information, please feel free to contact me or Jana Barresi, Sr. Director, Federal Government Affairs at Jana.Barresi@walmart.com. Sincerely, Bruce C. Harris Vice President, Federal Government Affairs Walmart Inc.