The Life of a Labor Law Poster

Labor law posters. You know they’re the foundation of any employment law compliance program.

But how does a labor law poster come to be? Why does one new law require a poster and another doesn’t?

Below, we will examine the life of a labor law poster, from a lawmaker’s desk to a wall at a business.

Get More Out of Your Labor Law Poster Program

How Does a Labor Law Poster Come to Be?

Starting with the basics, labor law postings are issued by government bodies and make employees aware of their rights under the law. However, these posters only communicate key points of the law and do not delve into every obligation for employers.

Whether a law requires employers to display a related labor law posting depends on the legislation itself. Many types of laws require posters to be displayed. These laws are generally to do with:

• Employee rights
• Employee leave
• Unemployment insurance
• Child labor
• Workers’ compensation
• Employment discrimination
• Human trafficking
• Workplace safety
• Wage and hour

Not all laws require a labor law poster update. But the categories above, and others, like predictive scheduling, often do.

And there are a lot of them. GovDocs monitors more than 1,500 postings across the U.S., including its territories, and Canada.

Meanwhile, here’s a quick rundown of the types of a labor law poster update:

• Posting created – new legislation requires a posting and provides the framework
• Posting updated – redefined rules of law or required updated (minimum wage being a good example)
• Posting removed – the law is reversed or a posting is no longer required

Again, though, how do you go from a new labor law poster to the wall of an employer’s location?

How Do Employers Get Labor Law Posters?

Of course, government agencies don’t send out labor law posters to employers.

Its incumbent upon companies to know which posters they need to display. It varies by location, though there are certain federal posters all employees are required to provide.

Also, many postings are only required to be displayed for employers in certain industries. Or, if an employer has a certain number of workers who speak a language other than English, they may have additional posting obligations, as well.

Employers can get posters for free from government websites. But many employers opt to simply pay for posters, securing them from:

• Online stores
• Employer associations
• Payroll providers
• Labor law poster vendors

A big part of what an employer decides to do depends on their size and tolerance for noncompliance. A large company operating in hundreds or thousands of jurisdictions may find the process unwieldy. Plus, the risk of fines and negative press for violations may prompt them to find a labor law poster provider.

With nearly 2,000 bills currently being monitored by the GovDocs Employment Law and Compliance team, it makes sense for large employers to find a poster provider. Indeed, nearly all large employers outsource their labor law poster program.

Labor Law Posters for Remote Employees

Are All Labor Law Poster Updates Required?

With all these updates each month, do employers really need to keep swapping out old posters for new ones? Not necessarily.

Posting updates generally take three forms:

• Required for all employers – Mandatory that every employer displays posting
• Required for some employers – Posting is required if employers meet specific criteria
• Optional posting – Posting is displayed at discretion of employer

It’s up to the individual employer to determine which posting updates must be displayed — depending on the nature of their business and how they approach labor law poster compliance. (GovDocs sends out a monthly report, The Grid, providing a comprehensive overview of these changes for clients.)

Do You Need to Buy Labor Law Posters Every Year?

Conclusion

Those who work in the HR and compliance world understand the complexities of labor law poster compliance.

And while they don’t have to monitor every new law, there are certain types that often require labor law posters.

This Employment Law News blog is intended for market awareness only, it is not to be used for legal advice or counsel.