TOP TIP: Employers – It’s Time to Update Your Mandatory FMLA and FLSA Posters!

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The U.S. Department of Labor has revised its mandatory posters under the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, and employers will need to take action to remain in compliance with their posting obligations under these laws.

FMLA Poster. Employers who are covered by the FMLA (meaning private employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius, as well as public and private schools, among others) are required to display a DOL notice that informs employees of their rights under that law. Failure to do so may result in a fine.

The DOL has revised its mandatory poster, which can be accessed here. However, it states that the February 2013 and April 2016 versions of the poster still fulfill the posting requirement. The information has been reorganized, with the following additions:

  • Deletes bonding leave as a reason for leave (which was redundant of the leave for the birth/adoption/foster placement anyway)
  • Clarifies that employees are entitled to use leave in a single block (and may be permitted to use it intermittently as medically necessary or otherwise permitted)
  • Emphasizes that FMLA is not paid leave (although paid leave may run concurrently, at the option of the employee or as required by the employer)
  • Adds that reinstatement to the same or virtually identical job includes shift and location.
  • With regard to the eligibility factors, adds that the employee must work for a covered employer, and provides a new definition of who is a covered employer
  • States that the employee must follow the employer’s normal procedures for requesting leave
  • Adds a new paragraph for state, federal and Congressional employees.

FLSA Poster. Every employer with employees who are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage provisions (meaning non-exempt employees) must post a DOL notice explaining the Act, including minimum wage, overtime and child labor provisions. The poster has been revised to include obligations under the new Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP” Act), which expands existing lactation protections for nursing mothers under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as discussed in our December 2022 E-Update. Unlike the FMLA poster, older versions of this poster will not satisfy the posting obligation. A copy of the revised FLSA poster can be downloaded from the DOL’s webpage here.

Where to Post. Both the FMLA and FLSA require that the required notices be displayed in a “conspicuous” location in each establishment. In other guidance, the DOL states that electronic posting is sufficient if (1) all of the employer’s employees exclusively work remotely, (2) all employees customarily receive information from the employer by electronic means, and (3) all employees have readily available access to electronic posting at all times. In other words, if any employees work on-site, electronic posting alone will not be sufficient.