DOL Federal Labor and Employment Law Posting Violations Increase 2022

Original article date: 3/14/22

Maximum penalties for federal posting violations are now going up by more than $2,000 under the increases just announced by the Department of Labor.

The department outlined the increases in a rule published in the federal register on January 14, 2022. They apply to penalties assessed after January 15, 2022.
The new maximum fine amounts are:
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): $189
• Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law (OSHA): $14,502
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA): $23,011
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Federal Poster (20″ x 26″) includes these postings:
Minimum Wage (FLSA)
Job Safety and Health “It’s the Law!” (OSHA 3165)
Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)
Equal Employment Opportunity Is The Law (EEO)
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)

Federal Department of Labor Poster Website
OSHA Posting Requirements
New York State Posting Requirements
New York State Unemployment Posting Request Form
New York State Time Off to Vote Posting

Reminder of the whistleblower law and upcoming technology monitoring changes in 2022.

New York City Postings
• Fulfills the requirement for employers to post an anti-sexual harassment rights and responsibilities poster under Title 8 of the New York City Administrative Code, §8-107-29
• Fulfills the Temporary Work Schedule Changes posting requirement for covered employers. The posting requirement is found in Title 20 of the New York City Administrative Code, §20-1205 (b)
• Also fulfills the requirement for employers in New York City to notify employees of their right to be free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions under Title 8 of the New York City Administrative Code, §8-107-22
• Includes the Earned Sick Time Act Notice of Employee Rights, which may be posted to inform employees of their right to sick leave under Title 20 of the New York City Administrative Code, §20-919

Pennsylvania Labor Posting Requirements

Texas Labor Posting Requirements
All Texas employers must display posters containing information on the Workers’ Compensation Program, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Employers subject to the Texas Payday Law must display a poster containing employee information on it. Employers liable under the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act must display a poster that includes information about both unemployment compensation and the Texas Payday Law. Also, every employer with 15 or more employees, and smaller employers with federal grants and contracts, must post the notice entitled “Equal Employment Opportunity Is the Law,” which contains information about the Equal Employment Opportunity/Americans with Disabilities Act laws.

TWC Required & Optional Posters
Payday law
All Texas employers subject to the Texas Payday Law must display a poster prominently in the workplace.

• Texas Payday Law Poster – English
• Texas Payday Law Poster – Spanish (Spanish-language version optional)
Texas employers not liable under the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act, but subject to the Texas Payday Law, must display the Texas Payday Law poster. Print it from the links above or request it from the TWC Labor Law unit at 800-832-9243 or 512-475-2670.

Unemployment Compensation
Businesses whose employees are entitled to file for state unemployment benefits and are also covered by the Texas Payday Law should request the poster that combines both laws: Texas Unemployment Compensation Act and Texas Payday Law.

Note: We have removed account specific information from this poster.

You can download the poster below or through Unemployment Tax Services, or request a copy by email or fax, or by contacting your tax office:
• Download the poster:
Unemployment & Payday Law Poster – English
Unemployment & Payday Law Poster – Spanish (Spanish-language version optional)
• Request the same poster online using Unemployment Tax Services
• Call: 512-463-2731
• Email: tax.statussection@twc.texas.gov
• Fax: 512-936-3205

When requesting by email or fax, include your mailing address and specify whether you want English or Spanish.

Optional Posters
• Information on Equal Employment Opportunity laws in Texas, as regulated by TWC’s Civil Rights Division.
– The Law in Texas
• Information on the Child Labor laws in Texas, as regulated by TWC’s Labor Law Department.
– Child Labor Law in Texas Poster – English
– Child Labor Law in Texas Poster – Spanish
• Information on Filing a Wage Claim under the Texas Payday Law, as regulated by TWC’s Labor Law Department
– Are You Owed Wages poster – English
– Le deben salarios atrasados poster – Español

Required Posters
https://www.twc.texas.gov/news/efte/required_posters.html

1. Comprehensive information and links to required posters (all free of charge) are found at https://twc.texas.gov/businesses/posters-workplace.
2. Posters should be displayed in such a way that each employee can readily see them (generally, the requirements have language such as “conspicuously placed” and “readily accessible” to employees). That would mean that employees who do not normally get to certain offices would not be served by posters displayed at those offices. The offices, or sub-offices, where those employees normally congregate would need to have the posters displayed for the benefit of the employees who are served by each such location.
3. Posters and other kinds of required notices do not have to be placed in individual locations that are only temporary worksites. Example: construction workers building homes in a subdivision would not need to have posters in each house, but rather only in a company jobsite trailer for the project.
4. In case of a co-employment situation, such as temporary employees assigned to client companies, the employees working at client sites are co-employed by the staffing firms and their clients under various state and federal employment laws. The notice statutes merely require the posters to be in the workplace. The enforcing agencies do not care who actually places the notices where the employees work, as long as the posters are up and visible to the employees. Thus, as long as the client companies have the applicable notices properly posted, their compliance with the notice requirements inures to the staffing firm’s benefit. By the same token, if the clients do not have the notices posted, the staffing firm would be co-liable with them for non-compliance with the laws. Bottom line: the staffing firm needs to determine whether the appropriate notices are posted in the clients’ locations, and if they are not posted, cooperate with its clients to get the posters displayed.
5. In a virtual office situation, where the company does not maintain a physical location where employees normally congregate, assemble, or show up for work-related purposes, post copies of the posters on the company’s web site section restricted to staff and send an e-mail, “read receipt requested”, to all affected employees listing and identifying the posters, complete with links to the posters on the web site, and reminding the employees that the posters are there for their benefit and that they should keep the e-mail archived so that they can easily find the links to the posters if needed.