The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor (DOL) recently released updated workplace posters.
The revised EEOC poster provides information regarding the recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). One of the revised posters from the DOL outlines workers’ rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the other outlines workers’ rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Employers can access free versions of the posters from the EEOC and DOL websites, and they can be viewed via the links provided below.
EEOC’s “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination Is Illegal” Poster (Updated June 2023)
Beginning June 27, 2023, employers must display the EEOC’s poster titled, “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination Is Illegal.” Similar to the two DOL posters, the revised EEOC poster is structured in a Q&A format and provides answers to the following questions:
- Who is protected?
- What organizations are covered?
- What types of employment discrimination are illegal?
- What employment practices can be challenged as discriminatory?
- What can you do if you believe discrimination has occurred?
Individuals can use the included QR code to access information about filing a charge of discrimination. The poster provides information about protections under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), effective June 27, 2023. Under the PWFA, employers who are covered by Title VII must provide employees with reasonable accommodations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
Employers are required to post a notice summarizing employees’ rights under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act in a conspicuous place, and the revised EEOC poster fulfills this requirement.
DOL’s “Your Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act” Poster (Updated April 2023):
The DOL’s FMLA poster, titled, “Your Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act,” was most recently revised in April 2023. The poster is structured in a Q&A format and provides answers to the following questions:
- What is FMLA leave?
- Am I eligible to take FMLA leave?
- How do I request FMLA leave?
- What does my employer need to do?
- Where can I find more information?
The new version also includes a QR code which individuals can scan to learn about the Wage and Hour Division’s complaint process. That Division oversees FMLA compliance and investigates complaints. In particular, the new poster clarifies that, although FMLA leave is unpaid, employees may choose or be required to use employer-provided paid leave concurrently with FMLA leave. Employers are advised, but not required, to post the updated version of the poster, meaning that employers are permitted to continue using the previous April 2016 and February 2013 versions (although employers are encouraged to use the more recent version).
Regardless of which version is used to meet their notice requirements, covered employers must display a poster explaining major provisions of the FMLA and informing employees about how to file a complaint with the Wage and Hour Division. The poster must be prominently displayed, and the text must be easy to read.
DOL’s “Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” Poster (Updated April 2023)
The DOL’s FLSA poster, titled “Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” was most recently revised in April 2023. The updates include new lactation accommodation obligations under the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”), effective December 2022. Specifically, the poster includes a section titled, “Pump at Work,” which explains that covered employers must provide a reasonable break time for nursing mothers to express breast milk for up to one year after the birth of a child. In addition, employers are required to provide a private place for nursing mothers to express milk, other than a bathroom.
In 2010, the Affordable Care Act mandated breaks to express breast milk; however, the rights only extended to exempt workers under the FLSA. Pursuant to the PUMP Act, breaks for nursing employees now extend to both non-exempt and exempt employees.
Unlike the DOL’s FMLA poster, previous versions of the DOL’s FLSA poster are no longer acceptable. Covered employers must post the April 2023 version in a conspicuous place, and it must be easy to read.
Calfee’s Labor and Employment attorneys are available to assist employers with questions related to the PUMP Act and the PWFA, as well as complying with the DOL and EEOC’s posting requirements.
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