Labor Law Updates

Technically, yes. But it’s not that simple, as there’s no “one-stop shop” for free government posters. To stay in compliance, you must contact all federal, state and possibly local (county and city) agencies that require employment law postings. Depending on your location, that means tracking requirements from up to nine different agencies for federal and state posters alone. And across the country, more than 22,000 local jurisdictions are authorized to issue their own posting requirements.

No. Mandatory poster updates can occur anytime throughout the year. Some states implement minimum wage changes in January, but that’s only one of several required posters. If you only update posters annually, you will likely fall out of compliance at some point during the year.

When federal, state and local laws vary, you must follow the law that’s most beneficial to your employees. However, you’re required to post the federal, state and local (city/county) posters even if the information conflicts. Keep in mind that minimum wage postings typically include other information about employee rights, beyond the minimum wage amount.

It depends. As a general rule, postings must be displayed in “prominent and conspicuous locations” throughout your business where they’re accessible to all employees. Larger companies should post in multiple locations to ensure easy access for all employees. Consider the following places: break rooms, locker rooms, employee entrances, time clocks, the HR department and applicant areas.

Generally speaking, no. Electronic delivery is not a substitute for full-sized physical posters displayed in conspicuous locations and accessible to all employees. The federal exceptions are FMLA and USERRA postings, but only if you communicate other policies electronically and provide digital access to all employees. Exceptions also apply for non-traditional worksites without walls (such as mall kiosks and mobile work units), as well as remote/off-site workers.

By law, you must provide mandatory labor law notices to all employees, including those who work off-site. Electronic postings are a compliant solution for these workers if they regularly communicate with the office via email or internet, and have computers or mobile devices to ensure accessibility.

No, visiting a few times a year isn’t sufficient. If remote workers come into the office less than 3-4 times a month, you need to provide posters in an alternative format (such as electronically).

Consider an electronic solution or a binder format. Electronic postings are ideal for employees with computers and internet access, while a binder format provides physical postings for other types of working environments.

This depends on several factors and requires legal analysis of your specific arrangements and contract for a definitive answer. Under the “joint employer liability” theory, however, you and the client may both be held responsible for employment law violations. If you have control over the physical workspace, it’s a smart practice to display the posters. Otherwise, consider an electronic solution or binder format.

It’s highly likely. In about half the states, employers must display certain postings, in Spanish even if all employees are proficient in English. Plus, cities and counties often require posters in multiple languages even if all employees are proficient in English. Some laws at the federal, state and local levels also require foreign language postings based on the languages spoken by employees.

Not necessarily. Federal contractors must post several additional labor law postings, which depend on the types of contracts and their value. In general, posters must be displayed only in locations where federal contract work is performed or supported.

Certain postings must be displayed where applicants can view them. At the federal level, these include EEOC, FMLA, USERRA and EPPA postings, plus the E-Verify/Right to Work posting where applicable. Many states, counties and cities also have applicant posting requirements. For applicants that come into your facility for pre-employment interviews, testing or other hiring procedures, you should display physical postings. For online applicants, you can provide electronic access via links to poster images.

While it’s not likely that government agents will knock on your door to check postings, they may visit for other reasons. At the federal level, most posting fines are assessed when agencies conduct an I-9 audit, an OSHA inspection, an EEOC investigation or even a DOL follow-up to an employee complaint. While on the premises for these reasons, agents will check posting compliance and issue fines if your postings are incomplete or outdated. On the state and local level, employers may be subjected to random government audits resulting in posting fines.

The bigger risk of non-compliance is related to employee lawsuits. In these cases, posting violations can result in higher damage awards against you, or cause you to forfeit important legal defenses. Missing or outdated postings can also extend the statute of limitations for employment lawsuits.

The answer depends on a lot of factors, including the state and local laws where your business is headquartered and where the employee lives, the structure of your business, tax issues, the legal relationship with the specific employee, company policies and applicable agreements. The safest practice is to provide posters from both states but at minimum you should provide posters from the state where the employee lives and works.

No. Employee 'handouts' are completely different, and typically refer to legal notices employers must personally distribute to employees at various points in the employment relationship, such as: upon hire, on employee anniversaries, when there are pay status changes, when an employee becomes pregnant, when an employee becomes injured or requests a leave of absence, and upon termination.

Each state and locality has different requirements. For the most part, these ‘handout’ requirements are separate and apart from workplace posting requirements. There are a few overlapping notices, but as a general rule the handout notices are separate and must be distributed in addition to the workplace posters. Each handout requirement is unique when it comes to the distribution method, but in most cases electronic delivery is acceptable.

Posters must satisfy minimum size and font requirements, along with strict color and/or layout specifications. Cutting corners by shrinking posters or not printing in color can put your company at risk for non-compliance.

Certain industries, such as healthcare facilities, restaurants and public sector employers, have additional labor law posting requirements under federal and state laws. They are a commonly overlooked area of compliance, but they must be addressed to ensure your business is fully protected.