There are many types of businesses and workers that could be considered agricultural. These include jobs like farming and livestock veterinarians, but also things like land appraisal, grain brokering, soil conservationist, irrigation engineering, and crop specialists. You may not even work on or near a farm to be an agricultural worker. Regardless of where you work, if you fall into this category, one of the things you must do in your workplace is to post Department of Labor required labor law posters.
The Department of Labor requires that every workplace that has even a single employee display the labor law posters that apply to that business’ operations. These posters inform your employees of the types of protection they have under the law, and remove fault from you if anything were to go wrong. Not displaying them can lead to major fines, so it’s important that you get the right posters displayed quickly.
The Big Six
The federally-required labor law posters for every business include six major laws that must be covered. You can purchase these posters separately or in a single all-in-one version. They include information on the following items:
- The Federal Minimum Wage, which may be higher or lower than your state minimum wage. You are required to pay whichever is higher, but you must also display this number in your workplace.
- Job Safety and Health. This informs your employees that you have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace, and backs up the information found on the state-required OSHA labor law poster.
- The Family and Medical Leave Act. This informs employees of their rights and your rights during times of serious illness or pregnancy.
- The Equal Employment Opportunity responsibilities. This poster informs your employees of your commitment to hiring and firing based only on job criteria, and gives them information regarding various EEO organizations.
- The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Ac This explains to military personnel their rights to a civilian job even during times of deployment and drills.
- The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. This poster explains the protections offered to seasonal workers.
The Fair Labor Standards Act as it applies to agricultural workers. This informs your agricultural workers of their rights to fair pay, and discusses child labor laws in relation to agricultural work.
Federal Contractors and State Labor Law Posters
Posting these labor law displays in your agricultural workplace is required by federal law. If you are a federal contractor, meaning your workplace is paid for work by the government, then you will also need to post information on the NLRA, the Walsh-Healy Public Contracts Act, the Federal Right to Work, and the eVerify system. This poster can also be purchased as a single all-in-one poster, or as separate displays.
Every state requires different posters, including the Occupational Health and Safety Act poster. Displaying all the necessary labor law posters in your agricultural workplace ensures that you will not be subjected to heavy fines in the event of an audit or legal proceedings.
