Associates who come forward with concerns play an important role in maintaining a healthy, respectful, and productive workplace, as well as protecting our stakeholders. These associates help our company address problems early — before more serious consequences develop. It‘s important for each of us to create a working environment where everyone can raise concerns of ethics issues without fear of retaliation.

Retaliation against associates who raise concerns or questions about misconduct in "good faith" will not be tolerated. Good faith means that you have made a genuine attempt to provide honest and accurate information, even if you are later proven to have been mistaken. Walmart reserves the right to discipline anyone who knowingly makes a false accusation or has acted improperly. However, if an associate voluntarily reports that they were involved in a violation, such self-reporting may be considered when determining the appropriate disciplinary action to be taken.

Walmart will not terminate, demote, or otherwise discriminate against associates for raising concerns. Also, it is important for co-workers not to isolate associates who have raised concerns — such employees should be treated with respect. Any change in treatment toward an associate who has raised a concern could be seen as informal retaliation.

Walmart has established a process to deal with retaliation issues. Associates who believe they have experienced retaliation after raising an ethics concern should bring the issue to the attention of their manager, or to the attention of the Global Ethics Office. The helpline can also be used to discuss a retaliation issue.

I reported an allegation six months ago. Ever since, my manager stopped including me in several meetings. Is this retaliation?
Significant changes in how you’re treated can be viewed as retaliation. If your manager treats you differently since you reported an allegation, you should raise your concern to management through the Open Door process or to the Global Ethics Office.

One of my associates called the Helpline and made a false claim against me this past year. I think they did it to hurt my career. Can I score them lower on the “Integrity” section of their evaluation since they're obviously trying to spread lies about me?
We should believe that associates who report concerns do so in good faith. Therefore, taking action against an associate for reporting a concern would be viewed as retaliation, and could result in disciplinary action for you as a manager. Retaliation will not be tolerated at Walmart. It prevents an open reporting environment, and encourages a culture of fear.

After an associate reported an ethics violation concerning their assistant manager to the Human Resources manager, their assistant manager began tracking all their mistakes. Is this retaliation?
Any variations from how the assistant manager previously treated the associate, and variations from how they treat other associates could be perceived as retaliation.

Is protection from retaliation only provided if I report my concerns through the Helpline?
Retaliation is unacceptable no matter which source you used to raise your concern (through management, Human Resources, or Global Ethics). If you believe you have been retaliated against, please contact one of those sources immediately.