We sell labor law posters, ourselves, and we have a lot of very satisfied customers. So, it’s not unusual for our customers to call us when they get mail or email from other companies telling them about “new laws” or how they could be fined thousands of dollars if they don’t order (the competitor’s product) immediately.

We've had a number of reports, for instance, of a marketing company sending out mailings saying that a new Federal minimum wage goes into effect on July 24 and that businesses could be fined thousands of dollars if they don’t post required labor notices. What the mailing doesn’t say is that the new Federal minimum wage rate that goes into effect on July 24 is already on the official minimum wage poster from the US Department of Labor. The poster that was released last July includes the wage rates for 2007, 2008 and 2009. So, any company that has the Federal minimum wage poster that was released last July doesn’t need a new Federal Minimum Wage poster.

(Note: Illinois, Maryland, Nevada and the District of Columbia are expected to issue new state minimum wage posters in July.)

Another type of misleading marketing being circulated talks about the changes in the FMLA law this year. A headline on one catalog we received in our office, for instance, reads: “Expanded FMLA Law NOW IN EFFECT! We Have the Solutions You Need to Comply Today.” Inside the catalog, they describe the changes, and if you read all the copy on the page, they say the Department of Labor has issued a temporary poster and that the poster is recommended.

That’s true. But what they don’t tell you is that because the poster is temporary (as of June, 2008), you won’t be fined for not posting it. And, if you do want to post the temporary poster before the DOL releases the final version, you can download it for free. The English version is here: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/NDAAAmndmnts.pdf. The Spanish version is here: http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/NDAASpan.pdf.

Instead, they suggest that you should get “in compliance immediately” by buying a “compliance protection” plan they sell. The plan guarantees automatic replacements for a year, but the price for the year is about two-and-a-half times the cost of buying a combined state & federal poster or poster kit from other companies. In most cases, it would be cheaper just to buy a replacement (or download one for free) if or when there is a change during the year.

We’ve gotten several calls about a different company that puts their customers on an automatic replacement plan and then sends updates and bills for the updates every time there is even a slight change (ie, not required) in the text on a poster. What we've been told by business owners, is that they did not request, or do not remember requesting that they automatically be shipped updates from this company. The updates apparently were frequent – and costly, and from what one person told us, his company was told they were not allowed to return the posters and that his company’s account would be sent to collections if he didn’t pay for the unwanted poster updates.

So, how can a business stay in compliance with labor law posting requirements and not get talked into buying posters or services they don’t need?

For starters, you can always check your state labor department website and the federal Department of Labor website to see what the latest changes in minimum wage laws are. Those sites usually will make free downloads available, too, and may have pointers to other sites that list other required posters. If you have the time to keep an eye on changes from the various agencies that require labor postings, there’s no need, in fact, to purchase any posters. You should be able to find them all free from the various agencies that require them.

If you don’t have time to keep up with all the laws and find it's convenient to get either a single poster with both state and federal laws, or a "kit" with one poster with federal required postings and one with state required postings, you can find a list of the most current available changes in state or federal posters on the Business Know-How Labor Law Poster Updates page. Or, you can sign up for our free poster update notification service. (We’ve heard there’s at least one company that charges to notify companies when the laws change.) You can also call our office at 631-467-8883 during East Coast business hours if you’re unsure about your needs.