So, I'm unemployed at the moment and will soon be looking for a job. I asked a friend about who around here was hiring and they said that Walmart was pretty much always hiring. I looked up walmarts policies and supposedly they protect against transgender discrimination, but I also live in a predominately conservative state. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone had experience with Walmart and just how strictly they protect transgender rights. I'm afraid I might not get hired or maybe get fired later on for being transgender and they say it's for a different reason. Also any advice about whether I should be completely upfront about it or wait a while on the job before I bring it up as I intend to try to transition to full time in about a month or so.
Former Walmart employee here. I'm not transgender, I speak only with a gay man's experience. My co-workers were very cool people and had no problems working with an openly gay man, but it always seemed to me that I was the one constantly getting my hours cut, being shafted on breaks and lunch hours and my productivity scrutinized with an iron fist. Eventually I was let go due to "downsizing" but I was the only one laid off from the shipping and receiving crew that was a skeleton crew of five people to begin with. I always suspected it was due to my sexuality but could never prove anything. Might just be one bad personal experience and other Walmarts are not like that, but I have heard a lot of horror stories from former LGBT Walmart employees. Do you desperately need this job or can you hold out for something better?
I can hold out I guess, but I figure that it would be the easiest one to get. I know at least five people who work there, and figured that maybe some of them might vouch for me. I don't know what my chances are getting a job in the first place as this will be the first real one I've gotten (sort of a long and sad story). I just know I need to get one and this seemed like a good place to start looking.
Well there's no harm in applying and seeing what happens. If you get the job, awesome! And if something down the road happens to put a bump in that - you can always bounce back. Who knows? You could wind up working with some of the best people out there. Whatever happens, I wish you all the best of luck in your search
Thanks it's just that I'm taking some big steps here and it can be a little intimidating. I'm trying to prepare as best I can, but right now I'm kind of in a wierd place. I know so few people in my town that I can ask about this stuff. We don't exactly have a strong LGBT presence here or at least none that I know of. I'd just feel better if there was someone here (my town) that I could find some solid information from. That's why I'm asking here for experiences and general advice.
A gay friend works at a Walmart near me. There's a transgender person who works there, and several gay and lesbian folks, including a lesbian manager. At his store at least (in California) they're very concerned about LGBT people not being subject to discrimination or inappropriate comments from other workers. The issue has come up and management has dealt with it quickly and effectively. Somehow I think if one was working in the Walmart in East Duck Butt, Mississippi, one's experience might be different, even though the corporate policies are supportive.
i'm not too sure on Walmart, but I work at Chipotle, and they have real strict discrimination laws (in your favor as a trans) regardless of state (since every chipotle in the states an U.K. are run and monitored by corporate) and they pay slightly higher then minimum wage (about $3 more) with a raise every 6 months. I've worked for them for a while now, and they seem pretty on the level. So incase Walmart doesn't quite work out, I'm sure there is a chipotle near you
Well in the great state of Massachusetts I've met a number of mtf people who work at target or my local supermarket. Don't think that helps but... Just saying.
From a quick check, the closest Chipotle is too far away for it to be practical to work there , but thanks for the info. If I decide to move in a few years I might just check in on that. Thanks though
Wal-Mart is an extremely unethical firm, and they treat all of their workers terribly, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Do you have a Whole Foods nearby? They pay a lot better, and have better benefits. Or possibly another upscale grocery store like it....this way, you might get $10+/hr to start, as opposed to $7.25. Or maybe even try a Starbucks.
My mom works at Walmart and honestly it depends on the store itself and who runs them/what department your going into I've heard in general that Walmart can treat employees crappy or great no matter the person. So I would look into who runs it and I would suggest being upfront with them, some managers or whomever is hiring would prefer people who are upfront but it all still depends on the individual store maybe talk to some of the employees or something and see what they think its just a suggestion.
Thank you all for your input. See, thing is, my town is fairly rural so we don't have a lot of options in almost anything. Which is actually ironic because we have a "world famous" attraction. Go figure. I guess I'll ask some of my friends who work there about the management and go from there. On a somewhat side note: It occurs to me that many people here on EC may have similar questions about the policies of companies and the experiences of its employees. Is there any way that a guide could be compiled and stickied or something? Or perhaps a website that tracks these sorts of things?
A bit back I had heard that they do not care for days but then later I heard that that was not true any longer so I say go for it What would u lose ? And if they're terrible you could sue them and make mad money. LOL
Ok, I did some research and this turned up, Corporate Equality Index | Human Rights Campaign Which is the Human Rights Campaigns Corporate equality Index list here is the PDF format of the book (it's long lol) http://www.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/cei_2014_full_report_rev7.pdf it lists every company that is LGBT friendly, has rules enforced for equality, and even lists companies that offer Transgender specific healthplans it even gives companies a score (with Walmart at 25 out of 100 lol) I hope this helps you, and every other Transgender person looking for a job/career ^^
Thanks everyone special thanks to FrozenFae for pointing out the website and Penilune for looking it up for me! (I was having trouble getting the site to load properly. My internet and computer are ridiculously outdated.)
