Labor Law Posters: Getting the Most Out of Them

Securing copies of labor law posters is no different than grabbing food from the fridge. It is easy and there’s always stuff to take on a regular basis. The task of actually conveying the posters’ messages, however, is a totally different story. Common obstacles include the poster’s location and lack of reading interest. The good news is there are a couple of common and easy ways to ensure that their real messages are relayed properly.

1.       Post in a high-visibility area. As a business owner, you’ll want a lot of the right people to see your labor law posters. The main and break areas are good examples since these areas encounter heavy traffic on each working day.

2.       Take a moment to read once in a while. You don’t have to make it a ritual performed on every visit to your establishment. The point is to remind yourself periodically of the laws and regulations that make your business a good example of an efficient and compliant workforce.

3.       Encourage staff to read – and understand. Wouldn’t things be a lot easier if it wasn’t only you who paid sufficient attention to those posters? Get your staff to participate in the knowledge-building by discussing with them the importance of reading and understanding what’s in those posters. Even the new and young employees who easily get bored reading legal documents will find it interesting if they know the benefits that come from reading them.

4.       Use posters as a reference to resolve related internal issues. If an employee working for an Ohio-based firm disputes his/her salary, then the solution can most likely be found in one of those Ohio labor law posters. Rather than go into an endless loop of debates with the disputing employee, the owner can simply read with him/her a poster related to minimum wage as a starting point. A representative of the payroll department will most likely be needed to determine the root cause and settle things. The point is simple: Make both parties aware of the legal facts, and then proceed to resolving the issue fairly.

5.       Update. One of the worst things an employer can do is leave his firm relying on outdated labor law posters. Just as the saying goes, “Ignorance of the law excuses no one.”

There are a lot more ways not discussed here that will maximize the use of your posters. These five tips, however, can provide a solid starting point and turn your employees from passive observers to active promoters. They will not only play a big role in promoting your team’s effective compliance with the law, but also become good examples to other employees themselves.