Your workplace posters: Beware these 3 timely new pitfalls.

• Author: Kaplan, Ashley
• Position: NUTS & BOLTS

Employers are often surprised to learn about their lesser-known legal obligations surrounding labor law postings. Here are the top three missteps that result in noncompliance:

1. Not giving your remote employees access to posters

   More employees are working from home due to COVID-19. This presents a dilemma for employers when it comes to sharing mandatory employment law information with workers.

   All U.S. businesses are required by law to display certain postings in the workplace to inform employees of their legal rights and responsibilities. But many employers don't realize they must provide telecommuters with the same information.

   If your remote workers report to your physical location at least three times a month, you're likely in compliance with government posting requirements, as long as you prominently display up-to-date labor law postings where they are accessible to all employees.

   If your remote workers visit the office less frequently, however,

   traditional postings at the office won't be enough. Postings should be provided electronically as an alternative.

2. Not providing posters in foreign languages

   Many employers mistakenly believe that they are not required to display foreign-language translations of labor law postings because they only have English-speaking employees on staff. However:

   * Nearly half of all states require businesses to display certain labor law postings in both English and Spanish, regardless of workforce demographics.

   * Employers with a significant number of Spanish-speaking employees who aren't proficient in English must display the federal FMLA posting in both English and Spanish.

   * A growing number of state posters must be translated and posted in foreign languages based on the "primary languages" of the workforce.

   Check your local laws to see if you have additional foreign language posting requirements.

3. Not distributing mandatory handouts to staff

   This is a fairly new compliance burden affecting employers of all sizes. In addition to labor law postings, many state and local laws now require employers to personally distribute certain notices, or handouts, to their workers about their employment rights.

   These notices cover many of the same laws addressed in the posters, and they change frequently. Some notices must be distributed to all employees, and others only for events such as change in pay, leave of absence, pregnancy or termination.

   These notice requirements apply to all employees, including remote...