Which Labor Law Posters are Required?
Updated: Jun 22, 2021
Clearing the path to compliance
Labor and employment laws provide regulations regarding the treatment of employees when paying wages, providing rights to certain types of leave, regulating safety in the workplace, prohibiting discrimination in employment actions and much more. Part of compliance with many of these regulations include posting notices for employees in a conspicuous place.
Earlier this year the Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance regarding posting required labor law posters for both remote and on-site employees. In short, an entirely remote workforce may receive notices electronically while employers with on-site and remote workers must post both on-site and provide the posters electronically. This creates another compliance predicament for many employers as now they are required to locate, save and provide all of the labor law posters electronically.
It is common for an employer to be uncertain that all required posters are properly displayed and where to find all of the electronic versions. Paid posters services provide “all-in-one” posters which contain general state and federal laws. However, with the existence of other state and federal posting requirements as well as county and municipality regulations, it is still extremely likely that certain posters will be overlooked.
The DOL may impose fines when labor law posters and notices are not displayed so it is important to ensure compliance. When providing posters to your remote workers electronically, be sure to provide them in a folder which is easily accessible to everyone. When posting the notices at the workplace, ensure that they are in a common area in a conspicuous place. Break, rooms, lunch rooms or other heavily frequented areas are good choices.
Federal Mandatory Labor Law Postings*
The basic required federal postings can be found on the DOL poster webpage.
The Basic Federal Mandatory postings are:
Federal Minimum Wage
Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law
Job Safety and Health Protection
Employee Polygraph Protection Act
Family Medical Leave Act
Employee Rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Right Act (USERRA)
Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (unionized workforces and some federal contractors)
*The DOL also offers the FirstStep Poster Advisor helper which runs an employer through a series of questions to determine if there are additional posters required. It is recommended that all employers use this tool as certain employers may be required to post additional posters not listed above.
Postings for Federal Contractors*:
All employers (regardless of state) need to post the following posters if they are applicable to their federal contractor status. *You may also find guidance on the DOL poster webpage for federal contractors.
Executive order 11246 Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) poster along with the supplemental poster AND the pay transparency nondiscrimination provision.
Davis-Bacon and related Acts
McNamara-O’Hara Service Contracts Act
Worker Rights (Minimum Wage) under Executive Order 13658
Service Contract Act/Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act
National Labor Relations Act
Federal contractors and any employers participating in E-Verify:
The posters for E-Verify must be posted where applicants can see them so it would be a good idea to place them in the lobby or other area which applicants frequent. There are two posters that must be displayed, the Participation poster and the Right to Work poster.
State Labor Law Posting Links:
Here is a helpful link to the state labor offices on the DOL website. Many of these offices provide webpages dedicated to providing information on the required postings as well as links to print them.
Click the button below for a downloadable list of New Mexico state and federal mandatory postings, as well as postings for federal contractors, including all of the links in this article and the link to state labor office websites:
New Mexico Labor Law Postings Edwards HR Consulting is based in New Mexico, and receives questions about the required postings frequently, so the specific required posters and link to the page are being provided in this article. Fortunately, New Mexico employers can find the most of the mandated employment posters on the Department of Workforce Solutions (NMDWS) handy webpage and print all of them out at no charge. (Federal posters may also be printed for free as well).
New Mexico Required Postings:
New Mexico Minimum Wage Act Summary
Human Rights Act (Anti-Discrimination) Poster
New Mexico Job Health and Safety Protection (State OSHA)
Human Trafficking
New Mexico Workers' Compensation Act Poster, Notice of Accident (NOA) Forms and Fraud Poster
Unemployment Insurance Notice
Healthy Workplaces Act (paid sick leave which will be required starting July 2022)
Local Required Posters
NMDWS also provides links to postings required by municipalities and counties at the bottom of the page. Employers are required to post the minimum wage posters even if paying higher than the minimum wage. Many states have higher minimum wages than the federal minimum wage and many cities and counties are even higher. Pay the minimum wage rate that is most beneficial to the employee.
Although it is not possible to provide a complete listing of required labor law posters for every employers’ specific situation, the above should help to guide employers as to finding the resources to get the right information. Please don’t forget to download Edwards HR Consulting’s Labor Law Checklist which contains the lists and links in this article that you can save for future use.
Roberta Edwards is the Owner and President of Edwards HR Consulting. Roberta has been a human resources professional for nearly 20 years. Her firm provides proactive human resources strategies for empowering and engaging your workforce, creating a powerful company culture focused on results. Roberta is also a Certified Gallup Strengths Coach and offers a variety of coaching engagements as well as team building sessions.