Original Date: July 30, 2018

Currently there are over 350+ regulations for labor and employment posting requirements that impact city specific, county specific, size specific, font specific and state specific, throughout the United States.  From 2013-2017, there have been (2013) 35, (2014) 52, (2015) 47, (2016) 37 and (2017) 44 mandatory posting changes.  In 2018, there have been 31 posting changes in the first half of the year.  In 2012, there were 5 cities with minimum wage ordinances, in 2018 there are more than 40 cities and counties with minimum wage ordinances.  All of these changes can and do impact our organizations.  How do we keep up with these continuous changes that vary by city, county and state?  It can be daunting, but this article is designed to provide some guidance and thought on these changes and a proactive approach to ordering new posters.

Below are 10 considerations for labor and employment posting requirements:

  1. City Required Postings: 55+ cities now require the following postings; minimum wage, paid sick leave, fair chance, discrimination and pregnancy accommodation. Not all 55+ cities require all of these postings, but they do require some of the postings.  Remember, NYC will be requiring a sexual harassment posting later this year.
  2. What do we need to post: The posting requirements will depend on company size, location, industry specific and federal contracts.
  3. Federal Posting Requirements: This includes the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA), Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) (15 or more employees), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (50 or more employees), and The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
  4. Federal Postings Visible to Applicants: The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Equal Employment Opportunity postings must be visible to all applicants. Postings should be visible in interview area’s or conference rooms.  What about phone interviews or skype interviews?  It is recommended to include the language in an email correspondence with the applicant(s).
  5. Remote and International Workers: It is recommended to send the employee a poster for the remote office location, ensure the updated posting requirements are on the intranet or email the posting requirements and verify signoff that the employee received and has copies of the posting requirements. If the employee travels and works in different states (example: New York and Pennsylvania), more than one poster might be required for these individuals with location specific information.
  6. Federal Contractor Requirements: Employee Rights Under the Davis-Bacon Act, Employee Rights on Government Contracts, Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act, Workers Rights Under Executive Order 13658, Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law, Paid Sick Leave, and Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision.
  7. State OSHA Programs: There are currently 21 states (and Puerto Rico) that have state specific OSHA programs and posting requirements. New York State and the State of Pennsylvania are not included in this list of state specific OHSA posting requirements, for now.
  8. General Posting Requirements: As employers we need to ensure posters are visible. Post where employees report each day, we may need to post in several buildings and/or in several locations.  We should not allow posters to be defaced or taken down.
  9. Federal Posting Penalties: OSHA up to $12,934, EPPA up to $20,521, FMLA $169 for each separate offense and EEO is the Law $545.
  10. New Poster Requirements: That is the question. Mandatory new poster requirements include; new law or regulation, change in law or regulation or agency directive.  Minor changes, the previous version remains in compliance.  Out of date posters are not accepted by the federal or state government.  Once information changes, we need to update immediately.  SHRM recommends taking picture or saving old posters.

The posting requirements continue to change at the federal, state and local levels.  In New York State, we will see changes to minimum wage at the end of 2018 that will require new posters in 2019.  We could also see sexual harassment posting requirements statewide and federal minimum wage changes.  Other thoughts I have include; ban the box postings, no salary history questions, investigation processes, etc.  Do not forget worker’s compensation posting requirements, paid family leave and short-term disability.  Ensure your posters are legal and up-to-date.  This is an area I audit and find common mistakes.  It is better to be proactive as an organization then reactive with labor posters.  There are many websites available for employers to order posters through, with shipping options to provide new posters as changes occur.  Remember, not every change happens at the end of a calendar year.  However, if you do not want to pay, the regulations can be found on government websites (not one website, many).  If you have questions, seek guidance and ensure you are compliant.

– Matthew Burr, HR Consultant

Published by Mathew W. Burr, MJ-LEL, MBA, MHRIR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CPHR

Matthew Burr has over eleven years of experience working in the human resources field, starting his career as an Industrial Relations Intern at Kennedy Valve Manufacturing to most recently founding and managing a human resource consulting company; Burr Consulting, LLC. Prior to founding the consulting firm, the majority of his career was spent in manufacturing and healthcare. He specializes in labor and employment law, conflict resolution, performance management, labor and employment relations. Matthew has a generalist background in HR and provides strategic HR services to his clients, focusing on small and medium sized organizations. He is a retired Assistant Professor of Business Management from Elmira College, an Adjunct Professor at Alfred State University and Collin College. Matthew is also the SHRM Certification Exam Instructor at the college, his students currently have an 80% pass rate on the SHRM-SCP and 92.3% pass rate on the SHRM-CP. Matthew works as a trainer Tompkins Cortland Community College, Corning Community College, Broome Community College and Penn State University. He also acts as an On-Call Mediator and Fact-Finder through the Public Employment Relations Board in New York State, working with public sector employers and labor unions. Matthew has publications at the Cornell HR Review, Business Insider, New York State Bar Association, Expert 360 (in Australia). In early 2017, he published his first book, “$74,000 in 24 Months: How I killed my student loans (and you can too!).” Matthew has an associate's degree in business administration from Tompkins Cortland Community College, a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Elmira College, a master's degree from the University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations in Human Resources & Industrial Relations and a Master’s in Business Administration specializing in entrepreneurship from Syracuse University. He currently holds a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) and the Society of Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) certifications. Matthew has been featured on CNN Money, Fast Company, Fits Small Business, Magnify Money, My Twin Tiers, Namely, Student Loan Hero, Smart Sheet and CEO Blog Nation.

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