Given the ever-changing list of employment laws that employers of all different sizes must follow, many may be wondering, do I have to purchase new labor law posters each year? This answer depends and may be a “yes” for some years, and “no” for others. The answer ultimately depends on when the federal government, state legislatures, and OSHA agencies roll out new changes.
So, why is it so important to post labor law posters? Labor law posters define those federal and state employment-related laws that all employers must comply with in their place of business. In addition, employers are responsible for making sure that the posters are posted in all locations and in an area where all employees have access to read them. In businesses where employees work remotely the posters must be made available to them in an electronic format. So, while this may seem like a simple task, it is one that employers often fail to do in their place of business, or businesses.
To be compliant, every time the federal or state labor laws change, employers must take down the old posters and replace them with a new, up-to-date poster with the updated laws, whether the new change impacts the employer’s business or not. Failure to do this may result in fines, lawsuits, or citations that could easily have been prevented. Complete failure to comply with the federal and state labor law posting requirements may result in combined fines up to $17,000 and potentially more depending on the number of business locations.
Throughout 2022, the following poster changes have taken place and require new posters to be replaced with the out-of-date posters. Some of the state changes include the following:
| State | Law/Act Updated | Description | Mandatory Posting Date |
| Alabama | Child Labor Laws | Information about the serving of alcoholic beverages has been updated. Employees must be 21-years old to serve alcoholic beverages, or 18 if the licensee is certified by the Responsible Vendor Program. | 07/01/2022 |
| Alaska | OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) | The posting shows updated penalty amounts. Penalties could reach $14,502 for each serious violation and $145,027 for willful or repeat violations. | 02/01/2022 |
| Minimum Wage | Updated with 2021 rate of $10.34 per hour. | 01/01/2022 | |
| Arizona | Minimum Wage | A mandatory change to the state’s minimum wage posting. The updated posting shows the 2022 rate of $12.80 per hour. | 01/01/2022 |
| Colorado | Discrimination | The state has increased the amount of time an employee has to file a discrimination charge. Employees now have 300 days after receiving notice of the employment action to file a formal complaint. | 08/10/2022 |
| Workers’ Compensation Act; Notice to Employer of Injury | Revised to comply with a change to the wording of the required notice to employees. The poster provides information about reporting requirements and filing a claim. It also includes space for the employer to enter the name of the insurance company. In addition, a separate Workers’ Compensation Act posting no longer needs to be displayed. | 08/20/2022 | |
| Paid Leave, Whistleblowing, and Protective Equipment | Updated to add information about SB22-097, Whistleblower Protection Health and Safety. Note: The Division of Labor Standards and Statistics indicates that a Spanish version of the poster is in development. The Colorado Spanish posters will be updated after the state releases the Spanish posting text. | 06/01/2022 | |
| Colorado Overtime & Minimum Pay Standards (COMPS) Order #38 (Minimum Wage) | The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has released Colorado Overtime & Minimum Pay Standards Order (COMPS Order) No. 38, which shows the 2022 minimum wage rate of $12.56 per hour. The poster also includes the new tipped employee rate of $9.54 per hour. In addition, the state has added regulatory references to the posting, updated information about key exemptions from the standard, and revised the wording. | 01/01/2022 | |
| Paid Leave, Whistleblowing, and Protective Equipment | Updated with information for 2022. | 01/01/2022 | |
| Delaware | Minimum Wage | The poster shows the minimum wage rates for 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. The rate for 2022 is $10.50 per hour. The minimum wage reaches $15 per hour in 2025. | 01/01/2022 |
| Georgia | Bill of Rights for the Injured Worker | Benefit amounts updated. | 07/01/2022 |
| Hawaii | Wage and Hours Laws | The minimum wage section of the poster has been updated with information about minimum wage increases. The minimum wage will increase to $12.00 per hour on October 1, 2022. The Family Leave Law section of the poster was updated to add grandchild to the list of family members an employee can take leave to care for when the family member has a serious health condition. | 07/01/2022 |
| Illinois | Sexual Harassment Chicago Labor Standards | The city of Chicago has released a sexual harassment posting that must be displayed by all employers in the city. In addition, the city has updated its minimum wage poster to show the new rates of $15.40 per hour (large employers), $14.50 per hour (small employers), and $12.00 per hour (youth workers). | 07/01/2022 |
| Your Rights Under Illinois Employment Laws (Minimum Wage/Equal Pay) | The Your Rights Under Illinois Employment Laws posting has been updated with new information about the Equal Pay Act. Under the act, certain employees at large businesses may request wage and salary information for their job title from the Illinois Department of Labor. | 01/01/2022 | |
| VESSA | The VESSA posting has been updated to indicate that the law protects individuals who are victims of any crime of violence. | 01/01/2022 | |
| Iowa | Job Safety and Health | Updated to indicate that employees can file a complaint of retaliation or discrimination for making safety and health complaints or for exercising their rights under the OSH Act. It also notes that employees have the right to copies of records of exposure to toxic and harmful substances or conditions. Employees must comply with occupational safety and health standards issued under the OSH Act that apply to their actions and conduct on the job. | 01/19/2022 |
| Louisiana | Earned Income Credit (EIC) | The Louisiana Workforce Commission has made a mandatory change to its Earned Income Credit posting to show new income limits. The posting notes that employees earning $53,000 or less must be notified at the time of hire of the potential availability of Earned Income Tax Credits. | 01/01/2022 (posting released on 04/25/2022) |
| Maine | Minimum Wage | Updated to show the 2022 minimum wage rate of $12.75 per hour. | 01/01/2022 |
| Regulation of Employment | Updated with new rest break and family medical leave information. | 01/01/2022 | |
| Maryland | Employment Discrimination Pregnant & Working | The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights has made mandatory changes to the Employment Discrimination and Pregnant & Working postings to update the time limit for filing a complaint from six months to 300 days. | 01/01/2022 |
| Minimum Wage and Overtime Laws | Updated to show minimum wage rates for 2022, 2023, and 2024. Effective January 1, 2022, employers with 15 or more employees must pay a minimum wage of $12.50 per hour. Employers with 14 or fewer employees must pay a minimum wage of $12.20 per hour. The posting also notes that different minimum wage rates apply to employers in Montgomery County. | 01/01/2022 | |
| Massachusetts | Paid Family and Medical Leave | Updated to show a new maximum payroll contribution rate and benefit amount for 2022. Employers may deduct payroll contributions of up to 0.344%. The maximum weekly benefit is $1,084.31. | 01/01/2022 |
| Michigan | Minimum Wage | The Michigan Department of Labor and Opportunity has updated the Minimum Wage and Overtime poster to show the 2022 rate of $9.87 per hour. It also shows the tipped rate of $3.75 per hour. | 01/01/2022 |
| Minnesota | Minimum Wage | The Department of Labor and Industry has updated its minimum wage poster, showing the 2022 rates of $10.33 per hour for large employers and $8.42 per hour for small employers. | 01/01/2022 |
| Missouri | Minimum Wage | The Missouri Division of Labor Standards has made a mandatory change to the state’s minimum wage posting to show the 2022 rate of $11.15 per hour. The posting also shows the new tipped employee hourly rate of $5.575 per hour. | 01/01/2022 |
| Nevada | Minimum Wage | The minimum wage posting shows the rates in effect for 2022. Employers offering qualifying health benefits must pay at least $9.50 per hour. Those not offering qualifying health benefits must pay $10.50 per hour. | 07/01/2022 |
| Overtime | The overtime posting has been updated with the overtime rate information for 2022. Daily overtime may be applicable if employees earn less than $14.25 per hour (if qualifying health benefits are offered) or less than $15.75 per hour (if qualifying health benefits are not offered). | 07/01/2022 | |
| Rules to be Observed | The Rules to be Observed by Employers posting shows the 2022 minimum wage of $10.50 per hour if qualifying health benefits are not offered, or $9.50 per hour if the employer offers qualified health benefits. | 07/01/2022 | |
| AB307 Employment and Job Training | The Nevada Department of Business and Industry has made a mandatory change to the job training posting required under Assembly Bill 307 updating information on job training and employment programs. | 07/01/2022 | |
| New Jersey | Discrimination Family Leave Act | The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights has made mandatory changes to the Discrimination and Family Leave Act postings. The discrimination posting has been updated to include a summary of the law’s meaning. It also notes that a remedy for discrimination may include adoption of new policies and procedures. Contact information for the Division on Civil Rights has been updated.The Family Leave Act posting has been updated with information about leave that can be taken if a school or place of care is closed due to an epidemic of a communicable disease. | 08/01/2022 |
| Minimum Wage/Wage and Hour Law Abstract | Updated with 2022 minimum wage rate for agricultural employees and information about the minimum wage for employees who work at a long-term care facility. Agricultural employers must pay a minimum wage of $11.05 per hour as of January 1, 2022. The minimum wage for long-term care facility direct care staff members is $16.00 per hour. Information about future minimum wage estimates has also been added. | 01/01/2022 | |
| New Mexico | Paid Sick Leave Healthy Workplaces Act | The New Mexico Department of Workforce Development has released a new mandatory Paid Sick Leave posting that all private employers must display. The posting describes how employees accrue paid sick leave and when they may use it. The poster should be in English and Spanish. | 07/01/2022 |
| New Mexico | Minimum Wage | Updated to show the 2022 minimum wage rate of $11.50 per hour. | 01/01/2022 |
| New York | Whistleblower | The New York Department of Labor has released a new mandatory whistleblower posting that all employers must display. The Notice of Employee Rights, Protections, and Obligations under Labor Law Section 740 poster describes prohibited retaliatory personnel actions and lists actions employees may take when their rights have been violated. | 01/26/2022 |
| Ohio | Minimum Wage | The Ohio Department of Commerce has made a mandatory change to the state’s minimum wage posting to show the 2022 minimum wage rate of $9.30 per hour. | 01/01/2022 |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma USERRA | The state has released a new posting outlining employee rights under the Oklahoma Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The act protects the job rights of individuals who leave employment for military service in the Oklahoma state military forces, such as the National Guard and the Oklahoma State Guard. This law was enacted in 2021, but the state did not release the poster until March 2022. | Law effective: 04/21/2021 Poster released: 03/18/2022 |
| Rhode Island | Minimum Wage | Updated to remove information about paying workers with disabilities less than the applicable minimum wage. The state repealed a law that had allowed workers with disabilities to be paid a sub-minimum wage under certificates issued by the Department of Labor and Training. | 06/15/2022 |
| Minimum Wage | Updated to show the new 2022 minimum wage rate of $12.25 per hour. It also shows the new rates of $11.03 per hour for students under 19 working in certain jobs and the rate of $9.19 per hour for minors 14 and 15 years old. | 01/01/2022 | |
| South Dakota | Minimum Wage | The South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation has released an updated minimum wage posting showing the 2022 rate of $9.95 per hour. | 01/01/2022 |
| Utah | Unemployment Insurance | The state updated the list of State Employment Centers and now provides this version to employers. | 04/04/2022 |
| Vermont | Minimum Wage | The Department of Labor has updated the minimum wage posting to show the 2022 rate of $12.55 per hour and the tipped rate of $6.28 per hour. | 01/01/2022 |
| Virginia | Seizure First Aid | Employers with 25 or more employees are required to post information from the Department of Labor on seizure first aid. Seizure first aid is defined as procedures to respond, attend, and provide comfort and safety to an individual suffering from a seizure. | 07/01/2022 |
| Minimum Wage | The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry has updated its minimum wage posting to show the 2022 rate of $11.00 per hour. | 01/01/2022 |
In addition to the poster changes listed above, there may be additional changes on either a city and/or county-level that may require additional posters. Staying up-to-date with federal and state employment law updates is time-consuming and may pose a risk to employers. So, there are organizations that provide subscription services to employers to assist them with remaining compliant. An employer is able to choose their respective state, and the subscription service will automatically provide the employer with updated posters every time that there is a change in either federal or state employment-related laws. The costs vary from vendor to vendor and for most businesses’, participation is a no-brainer, as the potential penalties for not having compliant posters is much greater than what the subscription service costs.
For additional information on federal and state labor law posting requirements, please contact us at www.NewFocusHR.com.
Written By: Patrick McKenna, SHRM-CP
HR Consultant
09/12/2022
