How to set labor law compliance notice alerts

  • Labor law posters inform your employees of their rights under federal and state legislation.
  • It’s important to stay on top of employment law changes to required workplace notices so you can stay compliant with federal and state laws.
  • Homebase HR Pro will alert you on the latest labor law poster updates so you can ensure your business is displaying the correct information at all times.

What is a compliant labor law poster?

Federal labor law posters are the notices required by the government that you need to post in your workplace if you have one or more employees working for you. The posters display important information that your employees need to be made aware of, in terms of mandated meal or rest breaks, child labor laws, number of hours of work regulations, and more.

For example, a poster displaying the labor laws for minors would include rules like how many hours they can work during a school day, what their required meal breaks are, and what industries they are prevented from working in. Federal labor law breaks rules are also required to be on display in your workplace.

There are also state laws, whether you’re in North Dakota, Rhode Island, or anywhere in between, that require you to post information about local regulations notices like labor law breaks (including paid breaks), required rest periods and break times, and any other unique laws that are required in your area.

While it is required to display every necessary labor law poster at your small business about things like federal labor law breaks, 8 hour day rules for consecutive hours worked, and more, it can be difficult to set up a trustworthy and reliable plan to remain updated on when state and federal laws change and you need a new version of the notices.

Homebase HR Pro does the heavy lifting for you and will send you every labor law alert you need to keep your business compliant. Our certified experts can also help you with things like employee handbooks, FMLA and FLSA rules, employing minors, workplace safety, minimum wage laws, blue laws, employee rights, wage and hour laws, and more.

Do I have to post labor law posters?

Labor law posters are required to work with employees at your business. If you run a business alone and do not have any team members working for you, you are considered a sole proprietor and do not need to post any posters displaying rules on break periods, meal periods, or any other labor law.

After all, you’re the only one working for your business and can operate however you want in terms of when you work.

But if you have even just one employee, it’s very important that you adhere to the labor law poster rules on the federal and state levels. Employees need to be notified about their rights, including if they are entitled to a 30-minute meal break or a rest period of 20 minutes, as well as what the maximum working periods are before overtime kicks in.

While it’s important for your employees to know their labor law rights, it’s also important for you to post the notices because failing to do so can result in heavy fines and penalties from state and federal governments.

The fines vary depending on which poster requirement you violate, but the penalties range from $110 to $10,000. The maximum fee is usually reserved for employers who knowingly violated the law, or who repeatedly failed to comply with the rule.

With Homebase HR Pro, it’s much easier to stay up to date on the latest labor law poster releases. We’ll send you alerts on both federal and state changes and let you know what the required date of compliance is for the new poster.

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What posters must be displayed in the workplace?

Here is a list of the required federal labor law posters that must be displayed in your workplace if you have at least one employee.

  • Equal Employment Opportunity: If you are covered under the Equal Employment Opportunity law and non-discrimination rules, you are required to post this notice where it can be seen by all employees and applicants. This notice informs employees on how they can file complaints if an employer is violating Equal Employment Opportunity laws.
  • Fair Labor Standards Act Minimum Wage: If you are subject to minimum wage laws, you must post this notice in full display as well, notifying employees what wages they are entitled to under the law.
  • Family and Medical Leave Act: Employees have rights to unpaid leave under the FMLA, and this required poster details what type of leave they can take and when.
  • Job Safety and Health: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires employers to post this notice that informs team members of their rights to a safe workplace.
  • USERRA: This poster informs employees of their rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which stipulate that military members have the right to be reemployed in their civilian job if they leave to perform military service.
  • Employee Rights for Workers with Disabilities/Special Minimum Wage: If you have employees with disabilities, you must post this notice to display that you have a certificate authorizing the payment of subminimum wages to workers who are disabled for the work they are performing.

There are also many state labor law posters that need to be displayed to inform employees about unique state regulations like paid leave rules and other area-specific rules. When it comes to updates to labor law posters, the state notices change more often than the federal requirements as state legislation tends to get updated at a higher rate.

Any time a state labor law poster is updated, HR Pro will notify you. Additionally, when any state or federal law changes are made, HR Pro will let you know what you need to do to remain compliant, regardless of if a new poster is required or not.

How often do labor law posters need to be updated?

When a state or federal labor law changes, a poster will oftentimes be updated and you as an employer will need to obtain the new notice to display in your workplace. The new requirement will come with a required compliance date, which means you have until that deadline to replace the old poster with the updated one.

The most frequent labor law poster changes include minimum wage and paid leave posters, as many states update their minimum wage rate annually and businesses need the new poster to reflect the increased rate. This usually occurs at the beginning of the year after the new laws going into effect.

However, many labor law poster changes go into effect throughout the year depending on where you operate your business. Instead of keeping an eye on the labor law poster changes yourself, HR Pro keeps an eye on them for you so you don’t have to worry as much about falling out of compliance.

We’ll send you an email notifying you to get the newest poster, ensuring that your workplace is consistently compliant and your employees have the most up-to-date information on their worker rights under the law.