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| November 7, 2008 DOL Home > elaws Advisors > FirstStep Poster Advisor |
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Poster RequirementsResults
Based on the information you provided in response to the questions in the Advisor, the following federal laws which have poster requirements likely apply to your business or organization. Please note the Advisor does not identify all the poster requirements of other federal agencies but it does include the poster required by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, if applicable.
In addition, certain organization may be required to display posters that can only be obtained from DOL's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP). More information on these posters is available. Links to all federal employment posters are always available on the Poster Page as are answers to frequently asked questions. Thank you for using the Department of Labor's FirstStep Poster Advisor. If you need information on state poster requirements, please contact your state labor office or visit the state poster page at Business.gov. Also note that some localities have workplace poster requirements, as do some other federal agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development which requires certain businesses to post its Equal Housing Opportunity poster. Please visit the FirstStep Employment Law Overview Advisor if you are interested in all the provisions of a particular federal employment law. The Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA) generally prevents private sector employers from using lie detector tests, either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment, with certain exceptions. Employers generally may not require or request any employee or job applicant to take a lie detector test, or discharge, discipline, or discriminate against an employee or job applicant for refusing to take a test or for exercising other rights under the Act. EPPA excludes federal, state and local government agencies from the Act's coverage, with respect to public employees. Lie detector tests may also be administered by the Federal Government to employees of Federal contractors engaged in national security intelligence or counterintelligence functions. EPPA includes limited exemptions that allow for the administration of polygraph tests (but no other lie detector tests) by private sector employers: Subject to restrictions, the Act permits polygraph (a type of lie detector) tests to be administered to certain job applicants of security service firms (armored car, alarm, and guard) and of pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and dispensers. Subject to restrictions, the Act also permits polygraph testing of certain employees of private firms who are reasonably suspected of involvement in a workplace incident (theft, embezzlement, etc.) that resulted in specific economic loss or injury to the employer. Where polygraph examinations are permitted under the Act, they are subject to strict standards concerning the conduct of the test, including the pre-test, testing, and post-test phases of the examination. The Employment Standards Administration, Wage and Hour Division (WHD) enforces the EPPA. Poster RequirementsPoster. Every employer subject to EPPA (whether prohibited or permitted to conduct polygraph tests) shall post and keep posted on its premises a notice explaining the Act. The notice must be posted in a prominent and conspicuous place in every establishment of the employer where it can readily be observed by employees and applicants for employment. There is no size requirement for the poster. The EPPA poster is available in English and Spanish. Posting of the EPPA poster in Spanish is optional. DOL ContactsEmployment Standards Administration (ESA),
Wage and Hour Division The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) The FLSA establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting full-time and part-time workers in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments. The FLSA requires employers to pay covered nonexempt employees a minimum wage of not less than $5.85 per hour effective July 24, 2007; $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. For more information see the Wage and Hour Basic Information Fact Sheet. An employee may be covered by the FLSA in two ways: "enterprise coverage" and "individual coverage." For more detail on FLSA coverage, see Wage and Hour Division Fact Sheet #14: Coverage Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Special rules apply to state and local government employment involving fire protection and law enforcement activities, volunteer services, and compensatory time off instead of cash overtime pay. Some employees are exempt from overtime pay or both the minimum wage and overtime pay. Because exemptions are generally narrowly defined under the FLSA, an employer should carefully check the exact terms and conditions for each. Detailed information is available from the local Wage and Hour Division office. The Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor administers and enforces the FLSA with respect to private employment, state and local government employment, and federal employees of the Library of Congress, U.S. Postal Service, Postal Rate Commission, and Tennessee Valley Authority. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management administers the provisions of the FLSA with respect to any person employed by a Federal agency. Poster RequirementsEvery employer of employees subject to the FLSA’s minimum wage provisions must post, and keep posted, a notice explaining the Act in a conspicuous place in all of their establishments. Although there is no size requirement for the poster, employees must be able to readily read it. The FLSA poster is also available in Spanish, Russian and in Chinese. There is no requirement to post the poster in languages other than English. Covered employers are required to post the general Fair Labor Standard's Act poster; however, certain industries have posters designed specifically for them. Agricultural Employees (PDF) and State & Local Government Employees (PDF) can either post the general Fair Labor Standards Act poster or their specific industry poster. There are also posters for American Samoa (PDF) and Northern Mariana Islands (PDF). Every employer who employs workers with disabilities under special minimum wage certificates is also required to post the Employee Rights for Workers with Disabilities/Special Minimum Wage Poster. DOL ContactsEmployment Standards Administration (ESA),
Wage and Hour Division The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) provides a means for employees to balance their work and family responsibilities by taking unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. The FMLA provides an entitlement of up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave during any 12-month period to eligible, covered employees for the following reasons:
The Family and Medical Leave Act was amended on January 28, 2008. The Act now permits a “spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin” to take up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for a “member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness.” Additional information and a copy of Title I of the FMLA, as amended, are available on the Wage and Hour Web page. FMLA also requires that the employee's group health insurance coverage be maintained under the same terms and conditions during the leave as if the employee had not taken leave. The Employment Standards Administration, Wage and Hour Division administers and enforces FMLA for all private, state and local government employees, and some federal employees. Most Federal and certain congressional employees are also covered by the law and are subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management or the Congress. Poster RequirementsPoster. All covered employers are required to display and keep on display a poster prepared by the Department of Labor summarizing the major provisions of the FMLA and telling employees how to file a complaint. The poster must be displayed in a conspicuous place where employees and applicants for employment can see it and at all locations even if there are no eligible employees. Although there is no particular size requirement, the poster and all the text must be large enough to be easily read. The FMLA poster is available in English and Spanish. If the employer’s workforce is comprised of a significant portion of workers who are not literate in English, the employer is responsible for providing the notice in a language in which the employees are literate. DOL ContactsEmployment Standards Administration (ESA),
Wage and Hour Division Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects service members' reemployment rights when returning from a period of service in the uniformed services, including those called up from the reserves or National Guard, and prohibits employer discrimination based on military service or obligation. The Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) enforces USERRA. Poster RequirementsEmployers are required to provide to persons covered by USERRA, a notice of the rights, benefits and obligations of the employees and workers under USERRA. Employers may provide the notice of “Your Rights Under USERRA” by posting it where employer notices are customarily placed, by mailing it, or by distributing it via electronic mail. There is no size requirement for the poster version of the notice.
DOL Contacts
Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) Whistleblower Protection Provisions The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) and fifteen other statutes with whistleblower provisions statutes protect workers against retaliation for filing certain complaints with their employers, unions, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), or other government agencies. These protections cover complaints about workplace safety and health; the environment; pipeline safety; air carrier safety; nuclear safety; asbestos in schools; corporate fraud; SEC rules or regulations; commercial motor vehicle safety, health, or security; public transportation safety or security; railroad safety or security; or fraud, waste, or abuse of public funds intended to be used for public transportation or railroad safety or security; as well as other related protected activities. Retaliation may include actions such as discharge or layoff, reductions in pay or hours, demotion, discipline, blacklisting, denial of overtime or promotion, failure to hire or rehire, or denial of benefits. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration administers and enforces the whistleblowing provisions of the OSH Act and the fifteen other statutes. Poster RequirementsPosters. All employers covered by the OSH Act are required to display and keep displayed the OSHA “Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law” poster. The poster is also available in Spanish. There is a separate poster for Federal agencies. This poster informs employees of their right to file a retaliation or discrimination complaint with OSHA for making safety and health complaints or for exercising rights under the OSH Act. The poster must be displayed in a conspicuous place where employees and applicants for employment can see it. Reproductions or facsimiles of the poster shall be at least 8 1/2 by 14 inches with 10 point type. Posting of the notice in other languages is not required. Employers covered by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (ERA) must display the poster, “Your Rights Under the Energy Reorganization Act,” where employees can readily see it. DOL ContactsOccupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) For questions on other DOL laws, please call DOL's Toll-Free Help Line at 1-866-4-USA-DOL. Live assistance is available in English and Spanish, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Additional service is available in more than 140 languages through a translation service. |
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