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What's on your walls: Employee rights notices required by law

Have you noticed your employee rights notices lately? You may have a serious employment compliance issue almost literally staring you in the face. One or more of the legally mandated employee rights notices posted in your workplace may be out of date or out of place. Or you may be missing notices entirely. In either case, the bottom line of your business is at risk, because failure to comply with notice requirements can be costly.

If you do not have the correct notices posted within your offices, your organization potentially can face significant monetary penalties. The law also may give your employees more time than they otherwise would have to file legal claims. And, if a claim is filed and you lose, the time period for which you owe damages may be longer.

Employer requirements
You are required to display posters advising employees of their legal rights under a variety of federal and state employment laws.

Under federal law, employers with 15 or more employees are required to permanently display and keep free from defacement the federal "Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law" poster. Employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius are required to post the federal Family and Medical Leave poster.

The federal Minimum Wage Poster is required under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Employee Polygraph Protection Act poster is required of private-sector employers.

Certain federal contractors and subcontractors are required to post:

• Presidential Executive Order 11246
• The notice regarding protections under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• The notice regarding protections under the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act
• Notices concerning the minimum wage on federal projects
• The Job Safety and Health Protection notice under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

The following posters are not required of all employers, but are recommended to inform employees of their rights and privileges during employment.

• Civil Rights Act of 1991
• Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
• Consumer Credit Protection Act
• Title III
• Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Federal Military Selective Service Act
• Immigration Reform and Control ACT (IRCA)
• Jury Service and Selection Act
• Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)

Employers often are required to post notices of their employees' additional rights under applicable state laws.

Changing regulations
Compliance would be easy if federal and state laws and notice requirements were static -- but they are dynamic. For example, the federal minimum wage was increased in July 2007 and will increase again in July 2008 and July 2009.

In July 2008, the minimum wage will also change in:

• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Montana
• Nebraska
• New Hampshire
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Texas
• Utah
• Virginia
• Washington, D.C.
• West Virginia

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is another example of significant legal change. In January 2008, the FMLA was expanded. It now provides up to six months of leave for family members caring for military veterans injured while on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. It also provides, under certain circumstances, up to 12 weeks of leave to family members of armed services personnel called up to active duty.

What are the consequences of noncompliance?
Employers that do not comply with notice requirements are subject to civil money penalties for each offense. But potential monetary penalties are only one reason to comply with poster requirements. Employees may be able to successfully argue that their failure to act timely should be excused because of your violation of the posting policy.

For example, under the FLSA, an employee generally has two years in which to file a claim of being improperly paid. That time limit is extended to three years in cases of "willful" employer violations. Nevertheless, if the employer failed to post the required notice, the employee may argue that they were not given adequate notice of their rights. In such circumstances, a court may determine that the time in which the employee could file should be suspended or stopped temporarily.

Similarly, an employer's failure to post the required FMLA notice may bar the employer from subsequently taking any adverse action against an employee. This could include denying FMLA leave to an employee who fails to give proper advance notice of their need for FMLA leave.

Stay compliant
Compliance would be easy if the state and federal governments sent employers copies of new or revised required posters, but they don't. The obligation is on the employer.

Ceridian can help you maintain compliance and minimize financial risk for your organization. For more information on our full line of state and federal employment law posters, call 1-800-643-5999 or visit www.hrcompliance.ceridian.com. You can also register online for a free subscription to Ceridian Abstracts, our weekly e-newsletter that keeps employers up to date on the latest employment law news.