As an HR leader, you’re responsible for building a holistic HR compliance system that protects your organization. Poster compliance must be a part of this strategy so your company can meet its legal obligations.
You must be on top of the state and labor law changes, especially if your company operates in multiple states. Outdated posters can open the door for larger litigations, causing hefty penalties and damaging the company’s reputation.
Different employee types will also require different posters. This article can help you strategize for the many challenges of maintaining labor law poster compliance, going beyond the basics.
Why Create a Strategic Risk Analysis for Labor Law Poster Requirements
Your HR risk management strategy determines and manages the workforce risks your company can experience. These include employee management, safety, operational and reputational risks. Poster noncompliance contributes to these risks as it affects employee satisfaction and can result in costly fines.
The Department of Labor (DOL), state and local agencies mandate the display of labor law posters. However, knowing what’s required only serves as the baseline. It is important to create a streamlined process to remain compliant and avoid legal risks. Consider these reasons when adapting a strategy:
1. You Belong in a High-Risk Jurisdiction
High-risk jurisdictions frequently update their already complex labor laws. They also have stricter enforcement and hefty penalties for violations. For instance, California has complex and conflicting ordinances, like the local minimum wage differing from the state minimum wage, and it passes employment laws frequently, making changes difficult to track. These situations pose additional challenges for HR professionals.
States also have their own regulations. For instance, New York’s “Workers’ Bill of Rights” poster must be available in multiple languages and distributed to all employees. Violations can cost $500 to $1,000. Without knowing these regulations, it’s hard to identify which poster requirements apply to your company.
2. Poster Noncompliance Connects to Other Claims
Poster compliance speaks volumes to employees and third parties. It shows that the company is committed to its legal obligations and is willing to uphold its employees’ rights. Compliance failures can lead to potential lawsuits, and attorneys can use poster noncompliance as a gateway to opening other cases, added to wrongful termination or discrimination suits to show a pattern of employer negligence.
For instance, an outdated minimum wage poster may suggest that the company is performing wage theft. The lack of sexual harassment posters may also indicate that the company mishandles workplace sexual assault.
3. Poster Compliance Leads to Smoother Audits
If your organization plans to merge or acquire another company, violations show you are not on top of labor law compliance, a critical factor for mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Other companies can view this as a form of mismanagement, and they won’t want to inherit potential liabilities.
To avoid the consequences of poster noncompliance, your HR team must be aware of the federal, state and local laws that affect which posters you should display. You should also note any industry-specific posters. A comprehensive Corporate Compliance Program makes the process easier.
4. Proactive Compliance Serves as an Investment
Being reactive is generally more expensive than having a managed compliance solution. For instance, failing to display the “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster can cost your company $680. Not displaying the poster for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can cost you up to $100 for each offense. Your company may require many posters, each with varying financial penalties for failure to display them.
Potential fines, litigation costs and internal labor expenses will likely be more than the annual cost of a managed compliance solution. Litigation costs include legal advisor and compliance consultant payments, while internal labor costs include direct costs like staffing, training, technology and auditing costs, which vary per industry. Indirect costs, like productivity loss and opportunity costs, also play a role.
To avoid these expenses, the HR department can spearhead a poster compliance policy development program and adopt risk management techniques. Third-party services, like Poster Compliance Center, reduce the tedious workload by providing you with the required posters in a timely manner. An automated state and federal compliance plan can effectively manage the risks and challenges in HR compliance.
Required Workplace Posters
Specific posters are required at the federal, state and local levels. Here are some of them:
- Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): FLSA must be displayed by every federal, state, local government and private employer with employees subject to the FLSA section on Collection of Data and minimum wage provisions.
- Employee Rights for Workers With Disabilities Paid at Special Minimum Wages: These posters are required for employers with special minimum wage certificates based on the FLSA’s Section 14(c).
- Employee Rights and Responsibilities Under The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): FMLA posters are required for public and private elementary and secondary schools, public agencies and private employers employing 50 or more employees.
- Employee Polygraph Protection Act Notice (EPPA): EPPA posters are also required for employers in the commerce industry. However, they do not apply to federal, state and local governments or situations covered by the national defense and security exemption.
- Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law: This poster follows the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and is required for private employers.
- Your Rights Under USERRA: Employers must provide the full text to each employee covered by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
Other posters are industry-specific. For instance, agricultural employers with migrant workers must post the “Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act” or MSPA notice. Federal contractors must post the notice on “Employee Rights on Government Contracts.” As for state and local requirements, check with your labor office. For example, in California, you may need a “Notice of New Employees Guide to Workers’ Compensation Insurance” poster, while Louisiana may require a “Pregnancy Rights of Employees Poster.”
Posters must be displayed on walls or conspicuous places, with exceptions. For instance, employers can mail or electronically send the poster for Your Rights Under USERRA to intended employees. Mall kiosks and agricultural worksites without walls may also use binders, provided the employees know where these binders are. eComply360 can provide the most updated posters in your binder. Employees can also access these documents 24/7 from any device.
Note that some posters have size requirements. For instance, OSHA posters must be at least 8 ½ by 14 inches with a 10-point type. Other requirements are more vague, where the DOL specifies that they should be “large enough to be easily read.”
Posters aren’t always required in other languages. However, some posters, like MSPA and FMLA, may highly encourage you to display them in all available languages, such as Spanish, Vietnamese or Haitian. This is especially the case if you have employees who speak other languages.
Hybrid Poster Requirements
With the rise of remote work and hybrid setups, digital labor law posters may be required to supplement physical posters. Remote workers must have access to the federal, state and locally required posters, like on-site employees. If you publish posters online, notify your remote workers of any changes through email or send a copy of the updated poster for their reference. The DOL’s Field Assistance Bulletin 2020-7 states that electronic posting may only substitute physical posting if:
- All employees of the company exclusively work remotely.
- All employees ordinarily receive information from their employer through electronic means.
- All employees can access the electronic posting at all times.
States also have their laws regarding digital posting. For instance, although New York allows digital publishing or emailing of the required posters, the state still requires employers to display physical versions in the workplace. Ohio also allows certain posters to be published digitally, like the state’s Minimum Wage poster, but excludes specific federally required posters. In Oregon, you must also provide remote workers with the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance poster electronically or by mail delivery.
Many labor law posters should also be visible to job applicants, making online availability essential. However, some labor laws have yet to consider digital poster requirements. Displaying the posters physically remains the safest option.
Keep in mind that electronic viewing may not satisfy poster size requirements. If the company has employees working on-site alongside remote employees, then the employer can supplement the hard copy posters with the digital versions. You can use eComply360 to help you provide compliant digital labor law posters.
Best Practices for Digital Implementation
Technology is essential in improving your systems instead of being a mere convenience. Hybrid and remote organizations can set up the following for an effective digital compliance system:
- Auditable acknowledgements: Digital acknowledgements, like e-signatures, prove employees have seen and read the posters. This also tells you which employees had access to what notice and when.
- Robust version control system: Setting up version control makes updating the digital notices easier and ensures the accuracy and timeliness of the posters.
- Accessibility features: Your digital posters must also meet the ADA’s accessibility requirements for web content. For instance, you may set up a screen reader for employees with blindness or low vision.
Digital compliance provides a modern, convenient and seamless employee experience. It also positions your organization as a forward-thinking company and shows employees you value their rights.
How to Ensure Labor Law Poster Compliance: Your Strategic Framework
To effectively manage risk, HR leaders must move from ad-hoc checks to a systematic and defensible compliance framework. Considering the common challenges for HR departments, here are the steps you can take to establish a strategic poster compliance system:
1. Conduct a Comprehensive, Risk-Based Audit
Assess the likelihood of risks and how much they can impact the company. Your audit must be a structured process that evaluates organization-wide risks. Your HR compliance checklist should include poster compliance for anti-discriminatory, wage, benefits, immigration, safety and union laws.
Note the potential fines and review employee complaints that may lead to an increased risk of litigation. Also, consider the damage to your reputation due to noncompliance. If disputes arise, this can quickly spread when shared through social media, making it difficult to bounce back from any harm to the company’s public image.
2. Centralize and Systematize Your Process
Think about your documentation process for monitoring updates, especially if you operate in multiple cities. How would you verify the digital access of your remote and on-site workers? A centralized system, supported by a compliance partner, makes it easier for everybody to find the information they need, as you’ll only have a single source of truth. This also makes auditing easier.
Assign the responsible staff to regularly review the requirements and update posters as needed. Quarterly and semiannual reviews ensure your posters remain compliant. Review incident reports for noncompliance, if any.
3. Leverage Technology and Expert Services as a Risk Mitigation Tool
Though you may have staff responsible for managing poster compliance updates, manually tracking potentially hundreds of state and local laws is not a viable strategy. Your compliance partner can do the heavy lifting.
When selecting a compliance partner, consider whether they offer an indemnification guarantee. This protects your organization from financial losses in case of noncompliance. You should also ask them to describe their strategy for tracking city- and county-level ordinances for timely requirements. Comprehensive poster compliance services for businesses, like Poster Compliance Center, can automate the entire process.
A state and federal compliance plan is one of the best practices for poster compliance. It automates updates and protects your company year-round.
Frequently Asked Questions
HR risk assessment is essential for poster compliance. To further understand how to take a proactive approach, consider the following:
How Does Poster Compliance Factor in the Due Diligence Process in the Middle of an Acquisition?
Your M&A checklist should include a compliance audit of your target company. Poster noncompliance can indicate a deeper problem in the HR system. If you spot this problem, budget for remediation to avoid inheriting the liabilities. Enterprises can opt for a dedicated Corporate Compliance Program to mitigate the risks.
How Do We Ensure Compliance for Employees Who Don’t Have a Fixed Office, Like a Field Sales Team?
You can provide mandatory digital access through a portal on your company website, a binder for company vehicles and traditional posters in the offices where they report. A robust digital solution can make your notices continuously accessible on any device.
When Selecting a Third-Party Compliance Vendor, What Are the Critical Questions to Ask Beyond Price?
These questions can help you select the most helpful service:
- How do you remain compliant with the federal, state and local regulations?
- Do you offer digital solutions? If so, how can they help our company prove compliance during an audit?
- Do you have an indemnification guarantee?
- Do you have an in-house labor law research team?
- What industries serve as your expertise?
- How would you handle fines or penalties in case of noncompliance?
Make Compliance Easy With Poster Compliance Center
The role of poster compliance in your HR risk management strategy is beyond helping you avoid costly fines. It protects your organization’s brand, employee trust and your position as an HR leader. However, the work can be arduous. You might not have sufficient resources. That’s where Poster Compliance Center can come in.
Established in 1991, we’ve been helping businesses remain compliant for over 30 years. We have fast turnaround times for poster shipments and reliable customer service, so you can get some peace of mind and leave the hard work to us.
We can help you reduce HR compliance risks by handling the monitoring and updating process, so you can focus on the greater priorities of your organization. Our state and federal compliance plans provide the comprehensive and automated protection you need, while our labor law experts can offer a tailored solution for larger organizations. Learn more about our services today.
The 501(c) Agencies Trust offers members a discounted compliance program, through Poster Compliance Center, to meet your legal notice requirements. Contact us for more information.
(Images by: Khonkangrua and Freepik)
