Want to get a jump on the new year? Now’s a great time to make sure you’re posting the correct employment posters. You’ve got until January 31 to have all of them up, but those first 31 days of the year can go by pretty quickly, especially with year-end payroll statements.
The posters aren’t very pretty and take up a lot of space. However, they’re part of doing business, and having up-to-date posters is the mark of an employer with awareness and integrity. That’s you, right?
It’s especially important for staffing firms to display these posters, as we might be the first point of interaction that an immigrant worker has with U.S. employment law. Plus, as the employer of record for our associates, it’s our duty and responsibility to make sure we meet every federal and state standard for employers.
The federal government requires these posters:
- National Labor Relations Act — The newest poster, added this fall, notifies workers of their rights to unionize, organize or bargain collectively—or not, as they choose. This poster must be 11 x 17 inches, even when combined with other posters.
- Fair Labor Standards Act — This must also be 11 x 17 inches.
- Employee Polygraph Protection Act
- Family Medical Leave Act of 1993
- Equal Employment Opportunity — Make sure yours includes information about the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA); if it was produced or printed after November 21, 2009, it should be okay.
- Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
- Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (note: only applies to businesses and associations involved with agriculture)
- Service Contract Act and Public Contractors Act (note: only applies to businesses that provide more than $10,000 of anything for a government contract)
- Davis-Bacon Construction Contracts Act (note: only applies to construction contractors and subcontractors, as the name implies)
Your state will require other posters to be displayed; check your state government website to see what the requirements are for posting, size and languages.
If you’re not sure which of these apply to you and which don’t, the Department of Labor has a great tool to tell you what you need: the eLaws® FirstStep Poster Advisor. Based on your answers to the questions this tool poses, it can tell you exactly which posters you need.
You can click on the links in the lists to view and print free PDFs of the posters from the federal and state government. Another option is to order “all-in-one” posters from one of the companies that produce them. These posters cram all the required information into a relatively small space and most of them are laminated, which makes them a good choice for break-room areas.
These posters might not qualify as festive holiday decorations, but they’re the mark of a good business, so why not take care of them now?