There might be a rule against accepting gifts from customers. If so it's probably to avoid situations where a cashier might become a suspect as having taken a bribe to let the customer steal stuff. If you don't accept a gift then there's no motive. Or, from a different perspective, when cashiers can't take gifts, there's less shrinkage.
If I was your manager I'd warn you. It's your personal business what your family and you do, but unfortunately the action of her giving you a gift violates company rules. The rules weren't written to stop personal business from occurring, however the rule has to apply to everyone in all cases in order to be effective. I would chalk this up to misunderstanding, but I'd warn you that if it happened again you might get fired.
However, Walmart doesn't necessarily have the brightest managers so they may not understand the purpose of the rule. They may not realize they have the power to make an executive decision on their own. They think it's better to use their power against subordinates in the name of the law than to risk having to defend their actions.
Oh, wait - you checked out a family member.... hmmm. I don't know Walmart policy on that, but I'd imagine that if cashiers aren't allowed to checkout family members, there's less shrinkage. So that rule might apply. With two rules being violated together it gets a little more touchy. I'd not only warn you but I'd secretly keep a close eye on you for a while. If you let your aunt take $50 worth of make-up and she gave you $10 as a thank you, that would be bad. And that's why all these rules exist.
I've been a cashier at a few stores--never Walmart, but I assume it's similar there.
It is perfectly fine to check out your relatives. This is probably not the part "this cashier" warned you about.
What might be problematic, and I don't know Walmart's policy so you should definitely ask, is accepting a tip on the job.
Only one job I've ever had allowed us to accept tips. Of ANY kind.
My last retail position I had a customer go to the in-store Starbucks and buy me a gift card. If I had accepted it, I could have been fired.
The fact that you accepted a cash tip from your aunt might be the part that your coworker warned you about.
Seek clarification about Walmart's tipping policy.
its against policy to check out family members at walmart.. My mom works there and i cant even be on the same register as her until 12 hours have past... You can get fired for it;
I onced checked out my cousin who worked at walmart i gave her a 7 out of 10 XD
what a nark
