Compliance with Labor Laws

Employers are required to display federal and state labor law posters in conspicuous locations in the workplace, to inform employees of their rights. Posting conspicuously means the notices should be placed where they are clearly visible and likely to draw the attention of employees. The labor law posters should be placed in areas often visited by employees, such as in the canteen, at time clocks, or in other areas frequented by employees.

How many posters does each workplace need?The intent of the workplace posting law is to ensure that every employee is aware of his or her rights. If all employees work at a common workplace, a single set of posters will do. But if employees are working from several locations, such as in multiple buildings and on multiple floors, the posters should be displayed in each location. However, if all employees meet at a central area, such as a break room or time clock, placing one set of posters at that location would be sufficient. As stated above, the goal is to ensure that the posters are easily accessible to all employees.

Remote workers/off-site workers/telecommuters/those working at homeIf your employees work at home or at kiosks away from the main workplace, you are still responsible for ensuring that they are informed of their rights under employment law. You can mail them each a set of posters or you can send them electronic versions of the posters through email. You can also include the labor law posters on the company’s network where employees can access and view them. However, be aware that simply including the information on the intranet does not satisfy the requirement of posting the notices on the employer’s premises. Employers must still display the posters in the workplace.

If you have employees who do not understand English, you will need to display bilingual labor law posters. Some states, such as Arizona and Texas, require that labor law postings be in both Spanish and English. Other states mandate bilingual posters if a significant portion (commonly consider to be 5% or greater) of the workforce is not literate in English. In all states, the intent is for all employees to be able to readily read the labor law posters.

What makes the compliance complex?Maintaining compliance with the many labor laws is not an easy thing. You must not only know which labor laws apply to your business but also which government agencies you need to contact to obtain the related posters.

Labor laws are constantly changing, and the related posters often change as well. Some of these changes are mandatory, requiring updated posters to be displayed by specific dates, while other changes are only recommended. Keeping up with the updates and revisions can be a full-time job, and one that takes you away from your core business activities, thus affecting your business’s bottom line.

What happens if labor law posters are not updated or replaced?Regardless of the difficulty of keeping up with changing employment law requirements, employers are expected to comply. While it is rare for a government agency to inspect a worksite specifically looking for posting violations, it can happen. More frequently, these violations are caught during agency visits for routine audits or during investigations of EEOC or wage and hour complaints, OSHA injury investigations, etc.

Failure to display required posters can lead to citations, financial penalties, loss of contracts and court actions. Also, if found during an investigation, the lack of required postings demonstrates a lack of concern on the employer’s part for following the law, which may lead investigators to the assumption that the employer is at fault, when in fact they may not be.

How compliance services help youYou can simplify the process of displaying the necessary posters in the workplace and ensure compliance with changing laws by purchasing your labor law posters from a reputable company, such as the Labor Law Center.

By enrolling in a compliance service that automatically updates your posters each time mandatory changes occur, you will guarantee that the most up-to-date posters are always on display at your place of business. Every time the law changes, the updated poster will be on your doorstep.

As an employer, your duties are many. Partnering with a compliance service can relieve you of one of these responsibilities and help you focus on other important tasks. And the cost is negligible when compared with the possible fines and penalties you may incur by failure to comply with labor law posting regulations.

Labor Law Center provides labor law poster & compliance solutions to any size business, corporate resellers and government institutions across the United States since 1999. Labor law posters at Laborlawcenter.com make it easy for the businesses to stay compliant with the latest labor laws and regulations. Also, Laborlawcenter.com offers Texas labor law posters. To learn more, visit our website.