Labor Department Makes Updated FLSA Poster Mandatory

After releasing a new Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) notice earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently made its updated FLSA poster mandatory. At the beginning of May, the DOL gave employers the option of posting the previous 2016 version or 2023’s updated version. However, the agency has since scrapped that leniency to require employers to make the updates. Subsequently, all covered employees must now display the revised version of the poster. The FLSA provides for several federal wage and hour standards and is one of five commonly cited employment laws that all employers should familiarize themselves with. Violations can result in settlements anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. In May 2023, a company was found liable for a record $22 million in back wages for FLSA violations.

Changes to Updated FLSA Poster

The changes included on the updated FLSA poster have to do with the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act). Briefly, the PUMP Act extends the employee the right to reasonable lactation breaks and a private, non-restroom location to express milk to exempt workers. This includes salaried employees at businesses with 50 or more employees on payroll. The 2023 updated FLSA poster reflects these changes in the following additions:

• The section regarding nursing mothers is now called “Pump at Work”
• Removal of nonexempt employee requirement
• Mention of certain narrow exemptions to the pump at work requirements

The DOL has reversed its previous leniency on the employer posting requirements for the updated FLSA poster. Now, employers must download, print, and post the updated notice immediately.

Other Upcoming Poster Changes

In addition to the updated FLSA poster, there are other poster changes employers need to be aware of. Firstly, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is likely to make new mandatory changes to its “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster when the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act takes effect on June 27. In the meantime, employers should ensure that they are displaying the October 2022 revision of the Know Your Rights poster. Finally, the DOL updated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) poster to present information in a different format. The poster now features a QR code for filing a complaint and uses a question-and-answer format to provide workers with information regarding:

• family and medical leave law,
• eligibility,
• requesting leave, and
• employer obligations.

Covered employers may replace their current FMLA posters but are not required to, as the 2013, 2016, and 2023 versions all remain compliant.

Updating 2023 Labor Law Posters

Personnel Concepts has distributed a free downloadable, printable version of the updated FLSA poster to its subscribers to post alongside their Space Saver-1 (SS1) All-On-One State and Federal Labor Law posters. Personnel Concepts will hold its regular subscriber mailing until the EEOC releases its updated poster. At that time, both postings will ship to subscribers.