Check out this piece from the Oakland Tribune on our kickoff event for our week of action:

The sick-leave policy of the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is putting the public at risk because workers are not paid the first day they take off for an illness, even if it is a serious contagious disease, according to members of several unions and labor watchdog groups.

The policy of docking pay on the first day of an illness, they said, ignores government recommendations to let H1N1 victims stay home without being penalized.

“Wal-Mart workers are coming to work sick,” said Jenya Cassidy, of the Labor Project for Working Families, during a rally Wednesday organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 5, and Wake Up Wal-Mart.

“Everybody gets sick, but not everyone can afford to get well,” Cassidy said.

Wal-Mart, which has become the largest grocer in the United States, denies the claim. But the specter of workers potentially spreading the H1N1 virus because they cannot afford to take time off has public health officials worried — especially retail workers who have frequent direct contact with the public.

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Last month, Walmart Senior VP Ken Senser issued a company-wide memo on flu season ‘preparedness.’ His memo claims “the wellbeing of our associates… is a top priority,” and offers guidance on how to “plan ahead” in case the flu virus strikes.

Be prepared for illness: know the company’s sick day policy, the memo advises.

Of course, there is a catch-22 here.  Walmart’s sick leave policy boils down to a simple formula: if you get sick, you find trouble.  Each sick day taken by a Walmart employee results in a “point” (demerit), enough of which will get you fired. 

Walmart’s sick policy results, as this week’s NLC report shows, in a culture that pressures employees to work while ill.  This isn’t just grossly unfair, it’s unbelievably stupid.  Given the rapidly expanding H1N1 pandemic, steering sick workers out of bed and into the aisles is a catalyst for spreading sickness among employees and customers alike.

Which genius in Walmart management could possibly think this is a good idea?  Ken Senser.

Here’s a little background on Walmart’s spymaster turned health “advocate.” Before Mr. Senser was concerned with influenza, he was spying on employees and activists alike as Walmart’s security chief. His crowning acheivement came when company operatives planted a long-haired employee in an “Up Against the Wal” activist meeting.  The bugged employee transmitted audio from the meeting to a surveillance van circling eerily outside.

Senser’s department also spies on employees who are suspected of violating company policy.  His investigators have tailed executives across Central America, for example, to out them publicly for extramarital affairs.  This is the guy entrusted with safeguarding the wellbeing of Walmart’s 1.4 million U.S. employees.  Bizarre.

His de facto role, it would seem, is safeguarding Walmart’s $13 billion in yearly profits. By any means necessary.

Senser is known for bare-knuckle enforcement of policy.  Unfortunately, Walmart’s rigid attendance rules are not productive for anyone.  Not even Walmart’s top shareholders.  It’s simply a recipe for spreading disease among employees and members of their communities. 

At least some government officials are looking out for Walmart’s employees.  HR 3991 could cause Walmart to reconsider its policy by requiring large employers to give 5 days paid leave to sick employees. 

It might well be called the “Walmart Swine Flu Bill"--with policy enforcers like Ken Senser, Walmart is unlikely to make productive changes to its sick policies until regulations force it to.

On Wednesday, we shared with you some of the many health care stories we receive from employees around the country. After years of minimal changes, employees are tired of waiting for the company to do the right thing. This is a life or death issue, will the Walton family finally stop playing games and make real improvements to the health plan?

Read more health care stories below:

BW in New Jersey…

I do not receive Wal-Mart health care because it is too expensive. In addition to subtracting $63 dollars from my paycheck once a month, I must pay a $350.00 deductible to the doctor.  I cannot afford this since my husband is disabled and I am the only one working.  Unfortunately, I must rely on emergency room visits when I am ill.  Therefore, I do not see the doctor unless I am very sick.

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Wal-Mart’s latest health care numbers are out. Unfortunately for current employees, these plans are just too expensive - especially with our economy in shambles. Wal-Mart’s choice network family plan has a $700 annual deductible and a $322 bi-weekly premium. If a family maxes out its $4000 out-of-pocket medical expenses, the plan could cost over $12,000 a year. For the average full-time Wal-Mart employee making approximately $20,000 a year, this isn’t feasible.

For plan specifics, please read our health care fact sheet.

But don’t take our word for it...listen to the current and former employees who write to us every day about the inadequate health care options at Wal-Mart. Read some examples below:

From BK in Louisiana…

I have insurance through Wal-Mart. It’s not expensive - about $20.00 a month - but it has a high deductible and I can only afford to use it for emergencies. I can’t obtain a plan with the smaller deductible because I can’t afford to take $100.00 more out of my paycheck. Last year, Wal-Mart offered a plan like I have now, but with three doctors visits and a $20.00 co-pay. My 2-year-old is on state medical insurance because I can’t afford to pay the high deductible on my insurance.

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An AP story today highlights efforts in several states to pass legislation requiring employers to offer paid sick leave to workers.

When asked in the article, Wal-Mart takes no position on proposed federal sick leave legislation, and quotes spokeswoman E.R. Anderson as saying Wal-Mart “feels good” about the company’s sick leave policy. 

Technically, Wal-Mart does offer paid sick leave to full-time employees - but the company’s policy is certainly nothing to “feel good” about.

Some of the less feel-good details about Wal-Mart’s sick leave policy:

- It is only valid for full-time employees. Wal-Mart refuses to tell us the percentage of workers who are full-time and part-time, but it reasonable to assume that well over 40% (560,000) are part-time and therefore ineligible for any paid sick time. It’s also safe to assume that whatever the percentage of part-time associates is, that number is growing. Going back to the 2005 Chambers Memo, Wal-Mart has made clear its intention to shift more of its workforce to part time to cut down on the cost of benefits.

- Even full-time associates must wait 6 months to be eligible for any paid sick time, whereafter employees accrue one half of one day of paid sick time a month - which is only 6 days per year.

- We’ve heard reports from SEVERAL employees that managers required them to miss two days to take one day of sick leave. Basically, if an employee was out one day and called in sick, he/she would be forced to take unpaid leave - unless he/she missed at least two consecutive days, in which they could start receiving pay on the second missed day. So for these employees, even those who are full time and eligible for the policy, Wal-Mart REQUIRES them to take unpaid leave.

Wal-Mart Executives probably feel a lot better about that than their employees do.

More to come on this issue.