Q&A: Multiple Mandatory Changes to Federal Labor Law Poster

Q: Why are there so many mandatory changes to the federal poster right now? Are all of the changes because of the same law?  

A:  No.Two of these changes are related but the third is not.   The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 resulted in the changes to the Minimum Wage and Polygraph Protection posters, while the Tracking Workplace Injuries and Illnesses regulations from OSHA resulted in the changes to the federal OSHA poster.

Q: What is the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act about?

A: Congress passed this act in 2015 to “advance the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties and to maintain their deterrent effect,” according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Under the law agencies must first “catch up” by adjusting their penalties for inflation (since the last adjustment in 1990) and then adjust their penalties annually for inflation in the future

Q: Are the new penalties listed on the updated Minimum Wage and Polygraph posters?  

A: No. The incorrect/outdated penalty amounts for violations of minimum wage or overtime laws have been removed from both posters.   On the Minimum Wage poster general enforcement information has been added.   In addition, new information on nursing mothers’ rights and incorrect classification of workers as “independent contractors” has been added.

Q: What are the Tracking Workplace Injuries and Illnesses regulations from OSHA and what are the new retaliation provisions found in them?  

A: These regulations require certain employers to electronically submit injury and illness data to OSHA. However, the only part of these new recordkeeping and reporting regulations that affects the OSHA poster is an employee notification requirement for new retaliation provisions.This notification requirement can be met by posting the latest version of the OSHA “It’s the Law” poster (April 2015).

Q: What new retaliation information is on this version of the OSHA “It’s the Law” poster?  

A: The new anti-retaliation information explains that workers have the right to report a work-related injury or illness, and to request copies of the workplace injury and illness log, and employers cannot retaliate against employees for using any of their rights under the law.

Q: How can I get more information about these changes?

A: There are two easy ways:

1. Read our Labor Law Posters Blog at https://www.postercompliance.com/blog/ for the latest news.
2. Visit https://www.postercompliance.com/labor-law-updates/ to sign up for our free Labor Law Update Notifications and we’ll keep you posted.

We are publishing an updated federal labor law poster which includes all three of these mandatory changes, as well as an updated Family and Medical Leave Act poster (April 2016) which is not a mandatory change.   Our OneSystem  customers will automatically receive the new federal poster.

If it seems overwhelming to keep up with changes like these, let us track them for you and get you what you need when you need it!   Just sign up for our OneSystem 1-Year Compliance Plan  with free automatic updates and leave the rest to us. Order online or give us a call: 800-322-3636