Labor law posters are one of the non-negotiable requirements that allow businesses to operate, but not every business needs the same labor law posters.
The purpose of labor law posters is to improve a business’ productivity while at the same time remind employees that they need to abide by the rules, requirements and responsibilities of the workplace. Labor law posters need to be clearly displayed in the workplace for the benefit of employers as well as employees.
The need for labor law posters largely depends on the legal structure of your business. Sole proprietorship and owners of LLCs with no employees are exempted from obtaining labor law posters. All other businesses, institutions or organizations who have employees on their payroll (including LLCs with employees), are required to obtain federal, state and in certain cases, industry-specific labor law posters to visibly display at their workplace.
By law, every employer in the U.S. is required to display their latest federal and state labour law posters in an area in the workplace where employees frequently visit. This is necessary to ensure that employees read the labor law posters to help them understand their rights and obligations within the workplace.
Federal Labor Law Posters
Regulations for federal labor law posters are pretty straight forward. Federal labor law posters include information about the Occupational and Safety Act (OSHA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the Federal Minimum Wage and the Employee Polygraph Protection Act. There are a few more, like the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but the above-mentioned are the most important of the bunch. Not posting each and every one of these workplace compliance posters in suitable workplace areas is a violation of an employee’s rights and will mostly likely result in hefty fines.
State Labor Law Posters
The regulations for state labor law posters vary from state to state. We’ll provide two examples as a means to depict how labor law posters vary between states.
Let’s take California as our first example. In addition to federal and state labor law posters, all businesses in California are required to obtain the California Minimum Wage Poster, the Payday Notice Poster, the Time off to Vote Notice for Employees, and several other labor law compliance posters. The State of California also recommends that employers obtain an IRS Withholding Notice (to remind employees to file a new Form W-4 with their employers), and the 15 Days to Slow the Spread Poster which identifies the U.S.’s coronavirus workplace guidelines.
Now if we look at Alabama’s labor law poster requirements, Alabama required slightly different state labor law posters than those required in California. In Alabama, all employers are required to display a Worker’s Compensation Notice Poster, the Unemployment Compensation “Your Job Insurance” Poster and the Alabama Child Labor Laws Poster. Alabama also has significantly more recommended labor law posters, like the Workers Compensation Fraud Poster, the Workplace Violence Prevention Poster and the Alabama Human Trafficking Poster, all of which California does not have on its list of recommended posters.
Each state in the U.S. will have its own state labor law posters requirements which is why it is crucial to research the labor law posters in the state in which you want to conduct business beforehand.
Industry-Specific Labor Law Posters
One important thing to remember is that your business may need specific or additional labor law posters depending on the nature of the business. For example, agricultural and construction industries have their own industry-specific safety regulations which should also be published on labor law posters, and industries like service restaurants and retail have their own industry-specific minimum wage requirements means restaurants and retails stores should post an appropriate labor law poster that corresponds with their industry’s laws and regulations. These are only a few industry-specific examples why it’s also important to research the specific posters your business may require based on the industry in which it operates.
Obtain Your Labor Law Posters Today
It is possible to download and print labor law posters directly from TRUiC’s website, they also have a variety of other startup and business resources for you to check out.
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