Do I Need Labor Law Posters?

As an employer, state and federal laws require you to display official, government-issued employment and labor posters in an easily seen location. Both state agencies and federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Labor, provide these posters to employers at no cost.

What Posters Are Mandatory?

If your business has more than one employee, you have to post OSHA, state and federal mandatory posters. Specifically, these six posters have to be seen in all workplace locations:

• OSHA
• Federal minimum wage
• FMLA
• EEO
• Employee Polygraph Protection
• USERRA

Where should Posters Be Placed?

It is important that the posters are placed in a location that they will be seen each day. This could be the main lobby or the break room. If you own several business locations, then you will need posters for each one.

When Are Posters Not Needed?

There are some instances when these posters are not legally required; however, they are still highly recommended, which include:

• A family owned business where the employees are related.
• Businesses that have a workforce made up of volunteers.
• Businesses that have only contracted employees.
• Sole Proprietors with no employees.

The Need for Multilingual Posters

If you have a business that is located in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, North Carolina, New York or Texas you will have to post both Spanish and English versions of the posters. If your business is not in one of these states, then it is not mandatory for you to display the bilingual posters; however, it is a smart thing to do if you employee Spanish-speaking workers.

When Do Labor Law Posters Need Updating?

When any changes to labor laws are made by OSHA, the state or federal government, it is essential to update the labor law posters so that you can avoid receiving a violation. You can see if there are any updates regularly to avoid missing one.

Understanding the importance of labor law posters, where to put them and what is needed will help you comply too any requirements for your state.

It is important to learn about the posters that are required and ensure they are posted in the proper location to prevent fines from inspectors. In some cases, these fines can be extensive and acquiring the posters is free, which means there is no reason not to do this.