What’s on Your Wall?

The employment-related laws just keep coming and it seems every new or changed law has required notices to post or distribute. California has had auditors visiting companies randomly this year. You can be fined if an employee is asked about posters and can’t tell the auditor where the information can be found.

As a reminder, required posters must be easily available to all employees. If an employee can’t access the room where you have the posters, you have them in the wrong place. If you have field employees, you need to give them their own poster information in the Company vehicle or as part of their own Employee Handbook or as separate documents.

The following isn’t a complete list… I may have forgotten something (it happens!) or there may be special postings required for your specific industry. However, this is a good start.

What should be posted?

  • A current employment law poster. Since it’s possible to get a current poster for under $40, there’s no reason to keep using an old poster year after year. Lately, the laws have been changing sufficiently so you really need a current poster, plus all the mid-year notices. New posters will include the previous mid-year updates so you can clean up your wall at that time. You can always get the poster for your state through a link on my website.
  • You have always needed to post the appropriate Industrial Wage Commission order (in California) but not everyone knows this. The document is about 14 pages long so just print it out, staple it together and stick it on the wall next to your poster.
  • The federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act notice also went into effect 8/1/2016 and requires posting.
  • A new federal minimum wage notice became effective 8/1/2016.
  • The minimum wage notice for your locale must be posted, if your locale has a different wage than the state (like San Diego).
  • Sick leave notices for state and local laws must be posted. A current employment law poster should have California’s sick leave on it but the San Diego notice is new.
  • If you have employees who work inside or outdoors and the thermometer starts going over 80 degrees, you are going to need to add the OSHA Heat Illness poster to your wall.
  • There are a few industries that must post the federal human trafficking notice, such as places serving alcohol, offering massage or bodywork services, and urgent care centers.

What should be distributed to each employee?

  • A separate document about your harassment policy. This became law on 4/1/2016 in California and there is a specific list of what this document must include and when it needs to be translated. Even if you have an Employee Handbook, this separate policy is still legally required.
  • Your sick leave policy must be in writing or you can’t limit how much sick leave employees can take. The policy should also include details that meet the local and state sick leave law regulations.
  • If you have employees who work in San Diego, you must distribute the City of San Diego Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Employee Notification Form. You need a signed copy in each employee’s file by 10/1/2016 to prove it was received.
  • If you have an Employee Handbook, it must be either distributed as a paper or digital copy to each employee. You can keep just an office copy only if it can be easily accessed at any time by all employees. If you have field employees, they need their own copy or you can keep a copy in Company vehicles but must let everyone know where to find it. The office copy won’t work for field employees because it’s not accessible to them at all times.

Although all these posters and notices will never be attractive wall decor, they are legally necessary. Failure to post or distribute required notices could make you subject to fines and penalties… why would you take the risk when it’s so easy to be compliant?

 

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