Walmart Clarifies Rules for Internal Workplace Collaboration Tool

Walmart’s Workplace Terms of Use provides a clear framework for acceptable behavior and technical limits on the company’s internal collaboration platform, known as Workplace. The policy is intended to help associates, store managers and HR staff understand what communications belong on the platform, which interactions may be removed, and how messages are treated when litigation or investigations require retention.

At the center of the policy is a requirement that Workplace be used for work-related collaboration. For non-exempt, hourly associates the policy says they are generally prohibited from using Workplace to perform work during off-hours unless they have written permission. That language has implications for managers who use the platform to send assignments, scheduling updates or other task requests: expecting or requiring responses outside scheduled paid hours can raise wage-and-hour compliance issues unless the company has granted written authorization for off-the-clock work.

The policy also links Workplace use to Walmart’s broader Social Media and Records Management policies. Contributions on Workplace may be removed regularly, so content is not necessarily permanent. However, posts that are subject to a legal hold must be preserved per legal instructions, and the legal hold requirement overrides routine removal schedules. This creates a dual reality in which associates should not assume deletions eliminate potential evidence in disputes or investigations.

The Terms of Use underscores that associate status remains at-will, making use of Workplace subject to existing employment policies and disciplinary standards. The policy warns that using personal mobile devices to access Workplace could generate cellular data charges, which are not reimbursed. That detail is likely to matter to hourly associates who rely on personal phones for company communication.

For employees with complaints about Workplace use or other communication issues, the policy points to Walmart’s Open Door Communications Policy as the channel for raising concerns internally. Store leaders and HR teams can use the document as a reference when training employees, setting expectations about after-hours contact, and responding to record-retention or legal-hold requests.

Overall, the Terms of Use clarifies boundaries and helps reduce ambiguity around electronic communication, but it also places responsibility on leaders to avoid creating off-the-clock work pressures and on associates to seek written permission before performing paid work outside scheduled hours.