Labor Law Posting Requirements

What are labor law posters?

Labor law posters are created by the federal and state governments with the intent of informing your employees of their labor and employment rights and give them a better understanding of what is required of them. If your business has at least one employee, you are required by law to post Federal, State and OSHA labor law posters in your workplace.

You must display these posters in prominent areas easily seen by every employee. These include areas such as break rooms, lunch areas, reception areas or where your employees clock in and out if you use a time & attendance system. If your business has multiple locations, there needs to be posters at each location.

Failure to display these required government labor law postings can result in steep fines and citations during an inspection. Fines for not having the proper posting or having an out-of-date poster range from $110 up to a potential maximum of $10,000.

Common posting requirements

The federal government and your individual state government each have a series of posting requirements. These can have minimum size constraints and must be posted in an area that is highly visible to all employees. Here is a look at some of the common federal and state labor law posting requirements.

Federal

• Employee Polygraph Protection Act - The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA) generally prevents private sector employers from using lie detector tests, either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment, with certain exceptions. Employers generally may not require or request any employee or job applicant to take a lie detector test, or discharge, discipline, or discriminate against an employee or job applicant for refusing to take a test or for exercising other rights under the Act.

Every employer subject to EPPA shall post and keep posted on its premises a notice explaining the Act.

• Equal Employment Opportunity Poster - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These laws cover all private employers, state and local governments, and education institutions that employ 15 or more individuals. These laws also cover private and public employment agencies, labor organizations, and joint labor management committees controlling apprenticeship and training.

Employers with 15 or more employees must post one of two equal opportunity posters: either the EEOC poster, or the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program’s (OFCCP )“Employment Opportunity is the Law Poster.”

In November 2009 the EEOC updated its poster to include a required Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

• Fair Labor Standards Act

The FLSA establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments. The FLSA requires employers to pay covered nonexempt employees a minimum wage.

Every employer of employees subject to the FLSA’s minimum wage provisions must post, and keep posted, a notice explaining the Act in a conspicuous place in all of their establishments. Although there is no size requirement for the poster, employees must be able to readily read it.

• Occupational Safety and Health Act

The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act was enacted to “assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women.” The OSH Act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at the federal level and provided that states could run their own safety and health programs as long as those programs were at least as effective as the federal program.

All covered employers are required to display and keep displayed the OSHA “Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law” poster unless the employer’s workplace is located in a state that operates an OSHA-approved state plan.

• Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects service members’ reemployment rights when returning from a period of service in the uniformed services, including those called up from the reserves or National Guard, and prohibits employer discrimination based on military service or obligation.

Employers are required to provide to persons covered by USERRA a notice of the rights, benefits, and obligations of the employees and employers under USERRA.

• Whistleblower Protection Provisions

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) and fifteen other statutes with whistleblower provisions statutes, protect workers against retaliation for filing certain complaints with their employers, unions, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), or other government agencies.

Although there is no specific Whistleblower Poster, the Whistleblower Protection provisions have the following poster requirements under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) and the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (ERA): All employers covered by the OSH Act are required to display and keep displayed the OSHA “Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law” poster.

• National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

On Nov. 14, 2011 The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) instated a poster notifying employees of their union rights under the National Labor Relations Act.

Common State Posting Requirements

• Emergency Numbers

The majority of states require employers to post emergency numbers. These emergency numbers provide employees the people they need to contact in the event of fire, accident or other incident. The numbers must be clearly displayed.

• Unemployment Insurance Notice

The purpose of unemployment insurance is to provide partial replacement of wages between jobs. If a business has to reduce wages or hours, or temporarily lay off workers, unemployment insurance gives workers financial security and temporary buying power so that they can remain in the community. This, in turn, helps employers keep their trained work force.

Employers are required to post information on their specific state’s unemployment insurance information.

• Occupational Restrictions for Minors

Occupational restrictions for minors are common posting requirements in most states. These posters describe the hours persons under 18-years of age may work and any restrictions on activity during those working hours. These restrictions can vary greatly state from state.

How do I stay in Compliance with posting requirements?

To stay in compliance with posting requirements you need to display the most current required posters for your industry. To do this you must first research to determine what posters your company needs. Once you have the proper posters in place you must monitor the postings and replace when new versions are released.

Where do I get labor law posters?

You can get individual labor law posters for free from both the federal government and your state government. These posters are typically nothing more than a piece of paper or an electronic file for you to print and hang. In total most companies will collect 13 of these posters on minimum and hang them in the workplace.

A more viable solution for many companies is to contract with labor law poster companies. These companies compile all the state and federal posting requirements into two laminated posters. Some provide a service that sends an up-date whenever one is issued.