State Update Overview
| Date Updated | December 2023 |
| Labor Law Update | The State of Texas New Reporting Workplace Violence Law; EEOC “Know Your Rights” and DOL “Employee Rights Under the FLSA” Posters |
| What Changed | New Reporting Workplace Violence Law; Recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and Provide Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP) |
| Mandatory or Non-Mandatory | Pending Texas Notice; Federal Updates are Mandatory |
| Updated Poster | Texas & Federal Labor Law Poster |
Effective September 1, 2023, employers in Texas are required to post a notice to employees about reporting instances of workplace violence or suspicious activity. The new order requires the Texas Workforce Commission to issue a prescribed notice by March 1, 2004.
Texas Reporting Workplace Violence Law
- All employers, regardless of size, must post a notice to employees of the contact information for reporting instances of workplace violence or suspicious activity to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
- The notice must be posted in a conspicuous place in the employer’s place of business in sufficient locations to be convenient to all employees and in English and Spanish as appropriate.
- The Texas Workforce Commission must prescribe the new poster by March 1, 2024.
Effective June 27, 2023, the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated its “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” Poster to summarize the new law.
EEOC “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” Poster Updates
- Illegal employment discrimination on the bases of sex includes childbirth.
- Illegal employment discrimination includes interference, coercion, or threats related to exercising rights regarding disability discrimination or pregnancy accommodation.
- Failure to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition can be considered discriminatory.
- Discriminatory employment practice can include conduct that coerces, intimidates, threatens, or interferes with someone exercising their rights, or someone assisting or encouraging someone else to exercise rights, regarding disability discrimination (including accommodation) or pregnancy accommodation.
Effective April 28, 2023, the Provide Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP) extends the right to receive break time to pump and a private place to pump at work to more nursing employees. The federal Department of Labor (DOL) revised its “Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” poster to include changes from the new law.
DOL “Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” Poster Updates
- The section titled Nursing Mothers has been changed to Pump at Work.
- The right to break time to express breast milk previously only applied to employees subject to the overtime requirement under the FLSA (non-exempt employees). This reference has been removed.
- The revised poster clearly notes that narrow exemptions may apply to the pump at work requirements.
Texas & Federal Labor Law Poster Updates
All businesses within the State of Texas must display the new reporting workplace violence poster as soon as it is released by the Texas Workforce Commission. All businesses within the State of Texas must display the new “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal”, and “Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” posters along with other state-mandated posting requirements where they are sufficiently accessible and viewable to all employees. These changes have been reflected in our Texas & Federal Labor Law Poster and require an immediate mandatory update. Failure to meet compliance requirements and display the updated posters could result in fines.
Order the Texas & Federal Labor Law Poster to immediately include these two new federal updates and keep an eye out for the new Texas poster.
