Labor law posters are an important part of communication required information
All employers are required to have specific posters conspicuously displayed at each facility with employees. If you’re not completely sure what labor posters you’re required to have, don’t worry. Here’s what you need to know.
Why should I care about displaying posters?
Is it that important that we display posters? The answer is absolutely yes.
State and Federal laws require that you display up-to-date posters for your employees. And while there are steep fines for noncompliance (up to $35,000 in federal fines + additional state fines), there is also real liability for failing to display workplace posters.
If an employee brought a lawsuit against your company and you didn’t have any posters (or your posters were outdated) you could face some additional problems:
- You might not be subject to the statute of limitations. Under normal circumstances, there is a maximum window of time that an employee can bring a lawsuit against you. However, a court might decide that the statute of limitations does not apply because employees were not informed of their rights to begin with.
- If a court decides you were purposely withholding information from your employees, they may decide you were operating in bad faith, which can increase your liability.
What are the requirements for displaying labor law posters?
- Displaying posters is required for each physical location with employees. Posters need to be conspicuously displayed.
- If you have a hybrid workplace with in-person and remote employees, you’ll need physical posters and you also to distribute your posters electronically to off-site employees.
- For fully remote companies, you can distribute posters electronically by sharing a permanent link to the appropriate posters.
- Some posters also need to be visible to job applicants. These include FMLA, Equal Employment Opportunity, and Employee Polygraph Protection posters. The Department of Labor provided this guidance.
What labor law posters do I need to display?
You will need both Federal and State labor law posters for each state where you have employees. All the posters you need are provided for free by the federal government and state departments of labor. You’ve probably seen the “all in one” laminated posters, which make it easier to stay compliant, but everything you need is also available as a free, printable document.
Federal Poster Requirements
Many different considerations determine which federal posters you’re required to display. A few factors include:
- Your industry
- How many employees your company has
- Union considerations
- If you offer a retirement plan or health benefits
- If your company is a federal contractor
The good news is there is a tool for understanding exactly which posters you’re required to have. Use the Federal Poster Advisor tool to understand your company’s requirements.
State Poster Requirements
To get the relevant state posters, you can find what you need on your state’s Department of Labor website. Here are links for each state:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Frequently asked questions
Q: What’s the best way to distribute posters to remote employees? A: Your remote employees will need a way to access posters online at any time. We recommend adding a permanent link to posters on your company’s intranet (or Google Drive, etc).
Q: Can I just include the relevant information in my employee handbook instead of using posters? A: No. There is a requirement for posters to be conspicuously displayed.
Q: Where do I get the compliance posters that I need? A: You can always buy laminated posters, but it’s not necessary. Free posters are available as well with the links above.
Q: What if I have questions about which labor law posters we need for our business? A: Reach out to us! We’re happy to help with any questions!
