The idea is that the trucks deliver the goods to the store closest to the final destination, and then store employees can volunteer to deliver up to ten packages a day after their shift is over. So far the program is being tested in New Jersey and Arkansas. Expansion plans have not been disclosed. Employees will be paid extra for delivering packages and will receive overtime pay as necessary as well. Details have not been released, so whether employees are paid per delivery, distance, time or some combination of multiple variables is unknown.

The issue is of course, how will this affect the employee's insurance? When delivering packages, will coverage be excluded as the personal auto policy excludes liability, medical payments, and uninsured motorist coverage that arises out of the use of the vehicle as a public or livery conveyance? Uber drivers discovered much to their dismay that since they were putting themselves out for hire to give rides that their auto policies would not provide coverage.

This however is different. The employee is not holding himself out to the public for hire; there is no app where you can hire someone to go get your package at Walmart and deliver it to you. Instead of the package being delivered by UPS, USPS, or some other carrier, a Walmart employee would bring it to your home. This is more like pizza delivery; the Domino's driver is not holding himself out to hire to go get you a pizza and bring it to you, he works for Domino's, is paid by Domino's, and brings the pizza you bought from Domino's to you. Walmart employees delivering packages is the same thing; they work for Walmart, you bought the package from Walmart, and an employee delivers it to you, but you did not hire, nor will you directly pay that employee for delivering your purchase.

The Walmart employees are therefore covered under their auto policy for delivering packages for Walmart. While the article gets into treatment of employees by Walmart in general, the coverage issue is clear. As long as the employee is not signing into an app where private individuals can hire them to retrieve and deliver packages, and the Walmart employee is working for Walmart, then that employee's insurance will cover them for accidents that occur while delivering packages to Walmart customers.