There are a plethora of federal and state laws that are related to employment and labor. In addition to complying with these laws, employers are responsible for posting labor law posters in the workplace. According to the federal requirement, these posters should be posted in highly frequented and visible places.
While this is a simple task, labor law posters are often not displayed in the workplace at all or not posted in frequented areas. At times, the issue is not posting up-to-date posters, which violates the requirement.
The Requirements of Labor Law Posters
Up-to-Date Posters
Non-compliance with this obligation to display labor law posters in the workplace leads to legal consequences. However, this is not a one-time task. These posters need to be consistently updated according to the changes in the requirements.
Therefore, it is important to make sure these posters are displayed in a place where they are highly visible and ensure that they are up-to-date. This is because submission of complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor is commonly related to wage-hour violations or discrimination in the workplace.
If a current version of these posters is not displayed in the workplace, the legal costs can increase tremendously.
Differing Requirements
Different states across the US have different requirements. For example, some states may require these posters to be posted in Spanish and English. Some states and even cities require that the employer display additional posters.
It is important to check the individual requirements of your state before you go on to printing generic labor law posters for your workplace.
The DOL guidance is only applicable to federal requirements. Employers should keep in mind that there are many states and cities that have additional requirements.
For example, the Department of Labor in New York required posters for job health and safety and minimum-wage information. California requires medical leave, minimum wage, and harassment and discrimination posters to be posted in the workplace.
Which Labor Law Posters to Display in the Workplace
While there are different federal and state requirements for displaying labor law posters, the federal requirements are essential, while the state may have additional requirements.
Here are six federal labor law posters that you need to display in the workplace:
1. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
2. Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
3. Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
4. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
5. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
6. Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)
Here are some additional posters that you might have to display according to your state:
7. Equal Pay for Equal Work Act
8. Paid Leave Laws
9. Employer Vacation (exemption from unemployment)
10. Unemployment Insurance for Employees
No one is exempt from the legal obligation of displaying these posters. It is required even if one employee is hired by your business. If there is physically no room for the posters, the labor law notices can be put in a binder or in the form of a booklet.
Even though this does not satisfy the requirement of displaying posters where they are highly visible, it can serve as a resource for mobile employees, which leads to understanding how this compliance can be met for the remote workforce.
Handling Labor Law Posters for a Remote Workforce
In the recent turn of events after the pandemic, there has been a shift in the work culture. Many workplaces have now shifted to remote work where posting hard copies of labor law posters in the head office where it is not accessible to the employees does not fulfill the requirement.
The Department of Labor (DOL) has launched a new set of guidelines for posting these labor law posters for a hybrid or remote workforce. The guideline briefs when the employers are permitted to disseminate the information on the labor law posters in electronic form, via emails, or uploaded on company portals.
Email Dissemination
Email dissemination is the simplest way to communicate the labor laws to a remote workforce. Since the remotely working employees are electronically connected to the employer, email communication may serve as a tool to disseminate this information.
However, email dissemination may satisfy one-time notice requirements, the posters are not accessible for everyday viewing.
Granting Electronic Access
The DOL encourages posting these posters electronically for remote workers. These electronic posts should have readily available access at all times for all teleworking individuals.
This means that the employee can access the notice without having to request permission from a shared network, a file system, or an external website. Also, posting them on the intranet is not sufficient until and unless the employer posts similar information on the intranet regularly. Therefore, the employees know about the notices and posts by the employer and where they can access them.
In case the intranet does not suffice, the employer must inform the employees how and where these notices can be accessed electronically.
Labor Law Posters for Job Applicants
If a hiring process is being conducted remotely, the applicants also need to have easy available access to the electronic posting at all times.
Recommendations
The following recommendations for labor law posters for a remote workforce can help meet the federal requirements:
- Design a space in your company’s intranet that is easily accessible. Consider the option of these posters popping up as employees log into the portal or the intranet.
- The employee handbook is a useful tool. You can use it to communicate to your employees regarding the virtual location of the labor law postings.
- In case of remote hiring, incorporate the required notices in the applicant portal.
Summing it Up
Labor law posters are an obligation that needs to be met whether your business is hiring a single employee or hundreds of them. While the workplace is shifting and electronic communication has expedited intensely, it is time that poster display laws also change.
The major change that has impacted these requirements is the shift to a remote workplace where employees do not have access to physical boards or displays. In this case, it is required to make sure to post these posters in a place where employees can easily access them.
A similar case is with a workforce that is mobile and not connected via the intranet. In this situation, the employer needs to inform where the labor law posters are posted electronically since in this case too, posting on an unknown website is equal to posting a poster in hard-copy in an unknown location which fails to meet the requirements.
GritHR Solutions can assist you in your labor law poster compliance.
