WORKPLACE LAW -
Employer Posting Requirement
Question:
As my company’s Human Resources Director, I am in charge of ensuring compliance with the numerous employer posting requirements. I would appreciate it if you could explain what posters my company must have posted and where I can retrieve the required posters.
Answer:
As you may know, state and federal laws and regulations require that employers put up certain posters in a conspicuous place for employees to read. The required posters inform employees as to the rights that they have under the law. If an employer does not have the required postings, penalties may be assessed. The following is a general overview of the posting requirements for California employers.
Posting requirements differ based on the number of employees a company has, the company’s industry, and the type of work being performed. However, regardless of these factors, all employers must display posters concerning the following:
- Federal and state minimum wage
- The applicable industry’s Wage Order
- Payday information
- Health and safety
- Emergency contacts
- Workers’ compensation information and the name of the carrier
- Whistleblower protection
- No smoking
- Discrimination and harassment
- Unemployment and disability insurance, and family paid leave
- Occupational injuries
- Voting rights
- Equal employment opportunity
- Fair Labor Standards Act
- Employee Polygraph Protection Act
Additionally, employers with fifty or more employees must have a California Family Rights Act (CFRA) poster visible as well as a poster regarding the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). A new poster reflecting the recently published FMLA regulations is available at www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/finalrule/fmlaposter.pdf. Furthermore, employers with 5 or more employees must display a pregnancy disability leave poster.
In addition, employers must provide eligible employees with a Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act (USERRA) notice, and employers using hazardous or toxic substances must display the medical and exposure records poster. Employers operating forklifts, industrial trucks, or tow tractors must have the operating rules for industrial trucks poster. Furthermore, any citation received from Cal/OSHA for a workplace safety violation must be posted at the site of the violation for at least three days, or until the unsafe condition is resolved. Specialized posters are also required for farm labor contractors, public works contractors, construction contracts, and employers with union employees.
All required postings should be conspicuously placed so that employees have an opportunity to read them. Common locations for postings include the employee lunch or break room, or other areas frequented by all employees. Employers who do not comply with the applicable posting requirements may be subject to civil or criminal penalties.
Links to many of the above mentioned posters can be found on the U.S. Department of Labor’s website
(http://www.dol.gov/osbp/sbrefa/poster/matrix.htm)
or the California Department of Industrial Relations’ website (http://www.dir.ca.gov/wpnodb.html). These workplace postings are usually available at no cost from the requiring agency. As an alternative, your business may purchase comprehensive posters that contain all of the required postings from private companies for a nominal amount.
It is good business practice to stay current on workplace posting requirements, in the event that there is a change in the law. In addition, your particular business may be subject to additional posting obligations not discussed above, depending on your industry and the substances and/or equipment used by your business. You can check with the Department of Labor, the Department of Industrial Relations, and Cal/OSHA to see if there are additional posting requirements that apply to your business.
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