To maintain legal compliance, employers must advise employees of many of their rights—and several of these notices must be made in the form of a publicly visible posting or notice.
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The list of required notices is long, and it depends on who the employer is. For example, public employers have different requirements than private employers. Large businesses have more requirements than small businesses. In short, there is no one-size-fits-all answer for what’s necessary, so we’re going to take a look at the notices that the majority of employers will be required to post. Evaluate your unique situation to see which of these will apply to you, and don’t forget to check local and state laws to see what additional requirements you may be subject to.
OSHA-Required Postings
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to post a notice about job safety and health protection. This is the “OSHA Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law” poster, which advises employees of their rights.
The OSHA poster is available here: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/poster.html
Postings for Agricultural Employers
The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) requires any employer subject to the act to post a notice about the rights and protections this legislation provides for workers.
There are also posters regarding agricultural employee Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rights and rights of H-2A workers.
The MSPA poster is available here:
http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/mspaensp.htm
The agricultural employee FLSA rights poster is available here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/wh1386Agrcltr.pdf
And the poster regarding the rights of H-2A workers is available here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/posters/pdf/WHD1491Eng_H2A.pdf
EEOC-Required Postings
The poster “Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law” must be posted by any employer that is subject to EEO and nondiscrimination laws. This poster covers the nondiscrimination rights of employees and applicants based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Equal Pay Act, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).
The “Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law” poster is available here:
http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/ofccpost.htm
FLSA-Required Postings
The FLSA requires employers to post federal minimum wage requirements. The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) also requires employers to post about special minimum wages for disabled workers.
The FLSA minimum wage poster is available here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/flsa.htm
The poster regarding minimum wage for disabled workers is available here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/disab.htm
FMLA-Required Postings
Any employer covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) must post a notice outlining employee FMLA rights and responsibilities.
The FMLA poster is available here:
http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/fmla.htm
USERRA-Required Postings
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) requires employers to provide notice to any employees entitled to USERRA rights. They can do so with a conspicuous poster or by other means, as long as the full text is provided to anyone who is entitled to the rights and benefits of USERRA.
The USERRA rights poster is available here:
http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/USERRA_Private.pdf
Postings for Federal Contractors
For companies that do federal contract work, there are several additional required notices:
- For government construction, the Davis-Bacon poster is required. It outlines the DOL Wage and Hour Division’s rules on wages and overtime for federal construction projects. The Davis-Bacon poster is available here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/davis.htm
- The Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (PCA) or the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) require a notice for covered employers. According to the DOL website, covered employers include “Every contractor or subcontractor engaged in a contract with the United States or the District of Columbia in excess of $2,500 the principal purpose of which is to furnish services in the U.S. through the use of service employees.” The poster outlines the wage, benefit, overtime, and safety requirements for contractors in this situation. This is called the WH 1313 SCA Poster, and it’s available here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/sca.htm
- For federal contractors and subcontractors with a successor contract, WH-1503 “Displaced Employee Rights on Successor Contracts” notice must be provided. In short, this outlines the fact that “all contractors and subcontractors awarded a federal service contract to provide the same or similar services at the same location must, in most circumstances, offer employment to the predecessor contractor’s employees in positions for which they are qualified.” WH-1503 “Displaced Employee Rights on Successor Contracts” is available here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/displaced.htm
- Federal contractors and subcontractors also must notify employees of their National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) rights. This stems from Executive Order 13496: Notification of Employee Rights under Federal Labor Laws. The poster about NLRA rights is available here: http://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/EO13496.htm
Other Required Notices or Postings
There are a few more to list:
- The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA) makes it illegal in most cases for an employer to submit an employee or applicant to a lie detector test. (Some industries are exceptions.) The EPPA poster is available here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/eppa.htm
- For employers that participate in the E-Verify program, they must post a notice of such, visible to employees and applicants. The E-Verify participation poster is available here: http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify/publications/participation-posters/e-verify-participation-posters
- There will also be other postings based on the industry in which you operate and based on regulations at the state and local level. Employers can access the posters they need at the federal level by using the FirstStep Poster Advisor: http://www.dol.gov/elaws/posters.htm. More information is available here: https://www.dol.gov/oasam/boc/osdbu/sbrefa/poster/matrix.htm
Is your organization compliant with all legal postings?
**This article does not constitute legal advice. Always consult legal counsel with specific questions.**