The U.S. Department of Labor has issued the Spanish version of the General Family and Medical Leave Act Notice poster, which incorporates changes in the new and revised regulations issued earlier this year.
Under FMLA, a covered employer must post a copy of the General FMLA Notice in each location where it has any employees (even if there are no FMLA-eligible employees at that location). According to FMLA rules, the notice must be posted “prominently where it can be readily seen by employees and applicants for employment.”
Per the DOL, when an employer’s workforce “is comprised of a significant portion of workers who are not literate in English, the employer shall provide the general notice in a language in which the employees are literate.” See 29 C.F.R. 825.300(a)(4).
The text “must be large enough to be easily read” and “must contain fully legible text.” Employers must ensure that the poster is identical to that in the DOL’s model notice.
The poster may be posted electronically, as long as it “otherwise meets the requirements” of the rule, and/or on an open website.
If an employer has any FMLA-eligible employees, the General Notice also must be included in the employer’s employee handbook, policy manual or “other written guidance to employees concerning employee benefits or leave rights.” If no such materials exist, a copy of the notice must be given to each new employee upon hiring, either in print, electronically or in an online employee policy manual.
Employers that fail to comply with the General Notice requirements under FMLA may face civil monetary penalties. Moreover, failing to provide the notice can harm an employer’s defense in an FMLA claim, for example, because the form notifies employees of their obligation to give proper notice to their employer of the need for FMLA leave, if and when practicable.