Advice for Purchasing and Posting Labor Law Posters

Labor law posters inform workers of their rights under the federal and state labor laws. All covered employers are required to display the posters in their workplace. Employers must post revised or newly required labor law notices on the posting effective date (not before) to be in compliance with the applicable state or federal employment laws.

For purchasing and posting labor law posters, there are a few important tips to remember:

1. Purchasing labor law compliance is not a one-time thing.

Generally, labor law posters are updated at least annually, but more often throughout the year as well. Failure to keep up with state and federal postings will lead to penalties or fines up to $32,946. Hence, finding a good labor law poster service provider is important for your company to stay in compliance and avoid unnecessary costs.

2. Labor law posters have strict posting requirements.

Posters must often fit very strict compliance requirements. There are some posters which must be displayed next to another specific poster. Most posters must appear within a certain size range, ensuring that the posters easily catch the attention of employees and are easy to read. For example, OSHA posters are required to be at least 8.5" x 14" inches with 10 point type (Pic 1). Some states have different posting requirements and sizes. Sometimes it can be as simple as not having the right poster in the right size that makes a company non-compliant.

Pic 1 OSHA poster

A number of federal and state posting regulations carry a fine for not posting the labor law poster in a conspicuous place:

• The penalty for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) posting requirement could reach $7,000;

• An employer violating any provision of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, including the posting requirement, faces a fine of up to $10,000; and

• Employers covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) who willfully refuse to display the notice could be fined $100.

Actions by federal agencies, such as the increase in the EEOC’s poster fine, show that they continue to consider posters to be a significant means of keeping employees apprised of their rights under the law.

3. Posters in other language need to be provided to workers whose native language are not English.

Many posters have language requirements, meaning that posters need to be provided not only in English but also Spanish or other languages for non-native English speaking workers. As Spanish is a strong second language in the United States, many posters have Spanish posting requirements. When language requirements are in place, the state and federal DOLs provide the posters in the designated languages. Some posters are available in as much as 10 languages including English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Nepali, Polish, Portuguese, and Vietnamese. Compliance companies have the posters in the required languages and will automatically provide mandatory language posters and provide other DOL provided language posters upon request of the client.

Pic 2 California Minimum wage Poster in Spanish