Guide to Labor Law Posters: Are You in Compliance?

Labor law posters and notices are an essential part of the workplace landscape, serving as visual reminders of employees’ rights under federal, state, and local employment laws. They also help demonstrate your company’s commitment to maintaining a healthy, supportive work environment.

Despite how difficult it can be to track labor law posting requirements, it’s non-negotiable for business owners. An unintentional lapse in poster compliance can put your business at risk and lead to costly reputational, financial, and legal consequences.

In this guide, we break down labor law poster requirements, explain how federal and state rules work together, and outline practical steps you can take to stay compliant as regulations evolve.

Labor law posters are official notices that inform employees of their rights under federal, state, and local employment laws. These posters are required by law and must be displayed where employees can easily see them within their workplace.

While posters may feel administrative, they serve an important purpose. They ensure your employees understand key protections related to wages, workplace safety, leave entitlements, anti-discrimination laws, and other employment standards. From a compliance standpoint, they demonstrate that your business is meeting baseline notice obligations under employment law.

Beyond compliance, adhering to posting requirements is an important step in fostering a workplace built on mutual trust and accountability.

What Are Federal Labor Law Posters?

Federal labor law posters are issued by various federal agencies, most commonly the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Each poster corresponds to a specific law and explains employees' rights and employers' responsibilities under that law.

Some federal posters are applicable to almost all employers, while others only apply if specific conditions are met, like the employer's size, industry, or workforce makeup. This is one reason why poster compliance can be more complex for growing businesses.

Who Is Required to Display Posters?

If your business has one or more employees, you’re subject to poster requirements. Determining which posters you must display is dependent upon several factors, including:

• Number of employees you have
• The industry you operate in
• Whether your business is covered by specific employment laws
• Where your employees are physically located

For example, most employers are required to display the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) poster, while the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) poster applies only to employers subject to FMLA.

Businesses in the healthcare or construction industries have additional workplace safety posting requirements. Public-sector employers and federal government contractors also have unique sets of posters and notices.

Knowing which laws apply to your business is the key to poster compliance.

Overlooking workplace poster requirements can lead to costly legal and operational issues. Keeping these displays in order is more than just a mandate — it’s an investment with benefits for you and your team.

Legal Obligations and Penalties for Noncompliance

When a law requires a poster, your business is legally obligated to promptly display the most current version. A failure to display or update mandatory federal posters includes fines that can total $43,700:

• Up to $26,262 per violation for Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)’s “Employee Rights” poster.
• Up to $16,550 per violation for OSHA’s “Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law” poster.
• Up to $698 per violation for EEOC’s “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster.
• Up to $216 per violation for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)’s “Your Employee Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act” poster.

If your business has multiple locations, penalties can be applied to each noncompliant site, increasing the overall fees. While fines can be reduced for businesses that demonstrate good faith efforts, such as fixing issues promptly, they can also be increased in cases of willful negligence, like ignoring warnings or showing a pattern of noncompliance.

Compounding Costs of Noncompliance

A hidden risk of noncompliance with labor law poster requirements is how it can impact your business if an employee files a complaint or lawsuit.

Let’s say that the posters currently displayed at your worksite are outdated. An employee files an anonymous wage complaint with the DOL. The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) sends an investigator for an onsite visit, where they observe the outdated posters and issue a warning.

During a follow-up visit, the inspector notes the posters still have not been replaced. The DOL can impose fines for noncompliance. The investigation is likely to prompt inquiries from state or local agencies, which can impose their own fines. Furthermore, your business might be considered a willful violator, which could spur employee lawsuits claiming unawareness of rights.

Maintaining a Transparent and Fair Workplace

Beyond compliance risk, posters support transparency by giving your employees clear access to information about their rights, including wages and safety protections, leave rights, and anti-discrimination laws. This visibility helps reduce misunderstandings and supports consistent treatment across the workforce.

For your business, clear communication around employee rights can also reduce disputes and reinforce trust. As a result, poster compliance is a small but meaningful part of creating a fair and well-informed workplace.

Federal poster requirements vary by law, and compliance often goes beyond what’s displayed on the wall. Some laws require extra notices at specific points in the employee lifecycle, such as when an employee is hired or goes on FMLA leave.

Understanding poster and notice obligations tied to the core mandatory federal poster requirements is critical to staying compliant.

1. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Minimum Wage Poster

The FLSA poster outlines federal minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and child labor standards. It applies to most employers and is one of the most widely required federal posters.

In addition to posting requirements, the FLSA includes recordkeeping obligations that require employers to maintain accurate payroll and time records. While those records are not posted, they are part of the same compliance framework.

2. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Poster

The OSHA poster informs your employees of their rights to a safe workplace, how to report injuries, and how to file a complaint. Most employers are required to display this poster, even if no workplace injuries have occurred. Some industries, such as construction, are required to display additional OSHA posters.

OSHA compliance extends beyond posting. Employers must also maintain injury and illness records and report certain incidents.

3. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Poster

The FMLA poster explains employees' rights regarding job-protected leave for qualifying family and medical reasons. Covered employers must display the required poster even if they have no employees currently eligible for FMLA leave.

Importantly, FMLA compliance goes far beyond the poster. When an employee requests leave or the employer becomes aware that leave may qualify for FMLA, additional notices are required. These include eligibility notices, rights and responsibilities notices, and designation notices. Missing or mishandling these notices can create compliance issues even if the poster is displayed correctly.

4. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Poster

Known as the “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster, this notice explains employee protections under federal anti-discrimination laws. It applies to employers covered by laws enforced by the EEOC.

This poster supports broader equal employment obligations, including nondiscrimination policies, complaint procedures, and recordkeeping requirements.

5. Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) Poster

The EPPA poster explains that most employers cannot use lie detector tests for pre-employment screening or during employment. Most employers are required to display it, even if they never use polygraph testing.

Because EPPA violations can result in serious penalties, this poster is important. It is often overlooked, especially by employers who are unfamiliar with the law.

6. Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) Poster

The USERRA poster outlines rights for employees who serve in the uniformed services, including reemployment and benefit protections. Employers may satisfy this requirement by posting it in a physical or electronic format, provided employees have reasonable access.

USERRA compliance also includes obligations that arise when employees take military leave or return to work, making this another example where notice requirements go beyond posting alone.

Federal labor law posters are only part of the compliance picture. Your business may also be subject to state — and sometimes local — posting requirements that expand on federal rules or introduce entirely new obligations.

For many businesses, especially those operating across state lines, navigating state-by-state labor law poster requirements can become significantly more complex, requiring more HR resources to stay compliant.

The Interplay of Federal, State, and Local Laws

Employment laws operate on multiple levels. Federal laws establish baseline protections, but states and local jurisdictions are free to enact additional requirements that provide greater protections for employees.

In practice, this means you must comply with:

• Federal posting requirements that apply nationwide
• State-specific labor law poster requirements for each state where your employees work
• Local postings required by counties or municipalities, where applicable

When requirements overlap, your business is generally required to follow the rule that is more protective of employee rights. This layered system is a common source of confusion, particularly if your business lacks dedicated HR staff.

Identifying Specific State and Local Obligations

State labor departments publish their own workplace poster requirements, which often address topics such as:

• State minimum wage and overtime laws
• Paid sick leave or paid family leave programs
• Workers’ compensation
• Unemployment insurance
• Anti-harassment and equal pay laws

Some municipalities and counties also mandate local postings, particularly in areas with higher minimum wages or expanded employee protections.

If you have employees in multiple states, poster compliance must be tracked by employee work location, not by headquarters. Each physical worksite must display the correct state and local posters for their specific location, and remote employees must receive access to the notices that apply to their work location.

Handling poster compliance with a post-and-forget-it mentality is a risk few can afford in a landscape defined by rapid, year-round legislative shifts. Instead, poster compliance should become part of your ongoing HR compliance strategy.

The following practices can help reduce risk and simplify management.

Build Poster Compliance into a Broader Compliance Strategy

Rather than managing posters separately, integrate poster compliance into your overall approach to employment law compliance. This includes:

• Maintaining a centralized list of required federal, state, local, and industry-specific posters
• Assigning responsibility for monitoring updates and changes on a quarterly basis
• Reviewing poster requirements during audits, expansions, or organizational changes

This approach helps ensure posters are updated when laws change or when your business conditions shift, such as during growth or expansions into new locations.

Obtain the Correct Posters

Many federal agencies provide required posters at no cost. A primary free federal resource is the U.S. Department of Labor’s Resources for Employers page, which provides access to federal workplace notices and posters in multiple languages and other helpful compliance tools. Keep in mind that you are still responsible for tracking updates and ensuring you are using the most current posters.

Another free, helpful tool is the Department of Labor’s FirstStep resource:

• FirstStep Employment Law Advisor helps you determine which federal employment laws apply to your business based on factors such as size and industry.
• FirstStep Poster Advisor identifies required federal posters based on your business profile and provides descriptions of posting requirements, along with links to printable posters.
• FirstStep Recordkeeping, Reporting, and Notices Advisor outlines obligations that extend beyond posters, including recordkeeping, reporting, and notice requirements.

Third-party poster vendors are also available as a paid poster compliance service. These providers typically offer subscription-based solutions that include all-in-one options combining state and federal posters, automatic updates when laws change, and posters in English, Spanish, and other languages.

Properly Place and Display Posters

Labor law posters must be displayed in a conspicuous place where your employees can readily observe them. Common locations include breakrooms, near time clocks, or other shared areas that employees regularly access.

Your business should also consider accessibility. Many federally mandated posters have minimum size and font requirements to ensure legibility. Place posters in an unobstructed location where all employees, including those with disabilities, can reasonably view them.

Examples of places where posters cannot be displayed include inside an HR manager’s office, behind supplies in a storage closet, in binders, within a locked room, or only in one building on a multibuilding campus.

Know Requirements for Remote Employees

Remote and hybrid work environments introduce additional compliance considerations. In many cases, you can provide electronic postings if your employees customarily receive work-related information electronically and have easy access to the notices.

However, electronic posting doesn’t always replace physical posting. If your business has onsite and remote employees, you need to maintain physical posters at worksites while also providing electronic access for remote workers. Effective communication and steady access are key to ensuring notice requirements are met in dispersed teams.

Get Expert Support for Ongoing Compliance

For many businesses, managing employer poster requirements alongside broader employment law obligations can become time-consuming and difficult to scale. It’s common for small and mid-sized businesses to turn to third-party support for guidance, including:

• HR outsourcing providers that assist with compliance monitoring
• Employment law attorneys who advise on complex or high-risk situations
• Professional employer organizations (PEOs) that provide ongoing compliance updates and access to required posters

Many PEOs, including G&A Partners, help ensure employers are compliant with labor laws and regulations through compliance alerts and expert guidance, including access to posters and notices.

Do I need to display posters if my employees work remotely?

If your business has onsite and remote employees, you must display posters within the workplace and provide electronic postings for your remote workforce. For businesses without a physical worksite, electronic posters can satisfy posting requirements as long as employees have readily available access at all times.

How often do labor law posters change?

Labor law poster requirements change whenever employment laws or regulations are updated, which can occur at any time during the year. Some posters may rarely change. Others, such as some state or municipality minimum wage posters, update more frequently. Review posting requirements quarterly and whenever laws change at the federal, state, or local level.

Can I print posters from government websites myself?

Yes. Many federal and state agencies provide printable versions of required posters at no cost. You are responsible for ensuring the posters are current, complete, printed in a legible format, and meet any applicable size requirements.

What if I operate in multiple states?

Multistate employers must comply with posting requirements for each state, county, and municipality where your employees work. This often means maintaining different poster sets by location and tracking updates separately for each jurisdiction.