Smart Benefits: The What, Where & How of Workplace Posters

Monday, October 21, 2019

Rob Calise, GoLocalWorcester Business/Health Expert

Rob Calise

Employment poster requirements can be confusing and, to make things more complicated, they’re continuously changing. Here are some common questions about the notices and tips for compliance.

Question: Are there size requirements for any of the federal employment posters I must display in my workplace?

Answer: Yes. There are specific size requirements for the following two posters:

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Poster must be at least 8-1/2 by 14 inches with 10-point font or greater.
The Executive Order 13496 (Notification of Employee Rights Under Federal Labor Laws) Poster must be 11 by 17 inches.

All other federal employment posters can be any size as long as they are easily readable, and must be displayed in a conspicuous place where your employees can see them.

Question: Do remote employees need to hang up a workplace poster in their home office?

Answer: Not necessarily. Remote employees should have access to workplace posters, but posters can be delivered electronically. The easiest way to ensure telecommuters have access to the relevant federal and state workplace posters is to post them on your organization’s intranet as well as in your physical facilities. If these are not options, the posters can be emailed to the remote employee. If the remote employee will be checking in at a company location or central office frequently, displaying the posters at that company location will typically meet your obligations.

Question: If our state’s minimum wage requirement is different than the federal one, do we have to post the federal minimum wage poster as well?

Answer: Yes, even if the state minimum wage rate is higher, you should display both the state and federal minimum wage posters because some employees may not be covered by the state law, only the federal, and there may be differences in other compensation rules like overtime.

Question: For posters that must be seen by applicants for employment, like the FMLA poster, what should we do if we accept online applications and conduct interviews by phone?

Answer: In addition to displaying physical copies of the posters in the workplace, you should include a notice on the career or job posting section of your website that explains that applicants have rights under federal employment laws and link to the EEO, FMLA and EPPA postings.

Question: Are my FMLA informational posters out of date?

Answer: The current FMLA rights poster, which you are required to display in your workplace in an area where your employees can see it, was updated in April 2016. The new poster can be downloaded from the Department of Labor website, but if you have the 2013 version of the poster, that can still be displayed as well.

Question: Are we required to have posters in other languages?

Answer: The requirements vary by federal agency and also by state. For example, The FMLA poster must be posted in a language other than English if the workforce is comprised of a significant portion of workers who are not literate in English. On the other hand, OSHA regulations don’t specify or require employers to display the OSHA poster in a foreign language, even though employers with Spanish-speaking workers are encouraged to also display the Spanish version. Be aware that certain states require both English and Spanish versions of labor law posters.

Rob Calise is the Managing Director, Employee Benefits of The Hilb Group of New England, where he helps clients control the costs of employee benefits by focusing on consumer-driven strategies and on how to best utilize the tax savings tools the government provides. Rob serves as Chairman of the Board of United Benefit Advisors, and is a board member of the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of RI Broker Advisory Board, United HealthCare of New England Broker Advisory Board and Rhode Island Business Healthcare Advisors Council. He is also a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), American Health Insurance Association (AHIA) and the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC), as well as various human resource associations. Rob is a graduate of Bryant University with a BS in Finance