West Virginia Revises Unemployment Benefits Poster; Updated EEOC and FLSA Workplace Posters

State Update Overview

In July 2023, Workforce West Virginia, a Division of the West Virginia Department of Commerce, published a revised Notice To Employees – Unemployment Benefits poster.

West Virginia Unemployment Benefits Law Update

• Revised benefit claim table includes benefit rates for wages from $59,800 to $62,650
• New wage classes are effective July 1, 2023

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. 

West Virginia Labor Law Poster Update

All businesses within the State of West Virginia must display the new “Notice to Employees – Unemployment Benefits”, “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal”, and “Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” posters along with other state and federally mandated posting requirements where they are sufficiently accessible and viewable to all employees. These changes have been reflected in our West Virginia & 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 West Virginia & Federal Labor Law Poster to immediately include these required state and federal laws.