Can Walmart Workers Get Disability Benefits?
Yes, Walmart Workers Can Get Disability Benefits. Walmart employs over 1.6 million people in the United States. They all have a difficult job in a difficult environment, which can sometimes result in medical problems requiring time off due to disability. Other times, medical conditions just happen that are unrelated to work, and Walmart employees must take time off or stop working altogether. What disability benefits are available for Walmart workers in this situation?
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
Walmart workers may be eligible for Social Security Disability, also known as SSDI, if they’ve paid enough into the Social Security system. Each Walmart employee pays payroll taxes (aka FICA), like almost all U.S. employees, which funds Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). If you’ve paid payroll taxes on $7,000 or more in wages for 5 out of the last 10 years then you’re probably technically eligible for SSDI.
But you can’t just be technically eligible to get benefits, you also have to be medically eligible. In other words, you also have to be disabled. Social Security’s disability rules are complex, to get a more detailed explanation click here. But the basic idea is that you have to be unable to work any job due to a medical condition. If you have any questions or want representation contact Baltimore Social Security Disability Lawyer Emmett B. Irwin now by clicking here. We also help clients up and down the East Coast.
Workers’ Compensation Benefits (WC)
If a Walmart employee is injured as a result of their job, they should get WC benefits to cover medical expenses and time off. If the injury is so bad that they become disabled as a result of the injury then they should get permanent total disability or partial total disability from Walmart. These rules are complicated and vary from state to state, so contact Baltimore Social Security Disability Lawyer Emmett B. Irwin if you have questions by clicking here.
Short Term Disability Benefits (STD)
Walmart provides STD benefits at 50% of lost salary (or hourly wages) for no cost.
Short Term Disability usually covers a maximum of 90-180 days of a covered medical condition that keeps you out of work on a “short term” basis. Usually large corporations cover a portion of their employees’ salaries if they developed a temporary disability. Walmart is no exception, however their 50% salary (or hourly wage) coverage is lower than the usual 60%. 60% can be purchased by the employee with a payroll deduction.
Long Term Disability Benefits (LTD)
Walmart does not pay for their employees’ LTD insurance policies. Employees can purchase coverage with a payroll deduction. Walmart offers a pay deduction for LTD insurance at either 50% or 60%, depending on how much you want to pay. The cost for the insurance is determined by how much you make, either hourly or salary. Unfortunately the company that decides whether you have a long term disability is Lincoln Financial, who made our worst insurance company list.
Talk to a Disability Attorney
So you can see that yes, Walmart workers can get disability benefits, and that those are the different types of disability benefits for Walmart employees. If you want more information, talk to a Baltimore Social Security Disability Lawyer by contacting us here. We also help clients up and down the East Coast, so call us even if you live outside of Baltimore.