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Posters inform workers -- and keep
you on the right side of labor laws
By Kyle
Parks • Bankrate.com
 When
Mark Lee opened his new business, Alliance Precision Engineering
Inc., he had to worry about everything from hiring the right people
to buying the right equipment. He also had to worry about something
that wasn't as obvious -- government-rules posters for his workplace.
"It isn't really something you think about
automatically, but it's something you have to have," says Lee, who
started his Sarasota, Fla., machine shop with six employees.
For Lee, finding out what he needed to do was
fairly easy. An accountant who helped him with payroll issues also
knew a lot about what workplace posters he needed. But for many
small business owners, it isn't so simple.
Federal law mandates companies prominently display
a poster or posters detailing workers' rights under five acts --
the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Occupational Safety and Health
Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Equal Employment Opportunities
Act and the Employee Polygraph Protection Act. The posters tell
employees things like what the minimum wage is and what the standards
are for their employer in such areas as workplace safety and hiring.
Signs
from the state, too
Then there are state requirements, which usually expound on
the same themes covered by the federal postings. Some states require
relatively few posters -- South Dakota doesn't require any. But
others require many more. California businesses may have to post
as many as nine more; Maryland businesses may need 10.
Different companies need different signs, depending
on:
- The number of employees.
- The kind of work they do.
- The state in which they're located.
Though state and federal officials don't emphasize
enforcement, fines can be as much as $7,500, say officials at G.
Neil Cos., of Sunrise, Fla., a company that helps its corporate
customers comply with the laws.
Warning
first, then a fine
Often, a company might be visited for another reason, such as
an employee's complaint or a safety inspection. If the official
visitors don't see the proper posters displayed, there can be trouble,
though in many cases a warning is first issued.
"A lot of how business owners deal with it is
in an ad hoc way," says Al Salgado, regional assistant director
for the North Texas Small Business Development Center in Dallas.
"They might find out about it from their neighbors or from others
in their industry. Some read about it. The tough thing for small
businesses is that they don't have the resources of a larger company,
which would have a human resources department in-house to keep track
of such things."
So what's a small business to do? There are
three ways to attack the problem. You can try to sort out the rules
yourself; you can see if professionals such as your lawyer or accountant
can keep track of them, or you can hire a company to track law changes
for you and send you the posters you need.
- Sort
out the rules yourself
Start by checking out the U.S. Department of
Labor's regulatory
compliance assistance Web page for small businesses. From there,
you can delve into each agency's requirements, though this can take
time. Also, there is little in the Web information that helps differentiate
the rules for one business vs. another, though that would be understandably
difficult to do given the range of companies across the country.
Beyond that, a business owner can contact each
agency, says Dan Fuqua, a labor department spokesman.
For instance, rules concerning polygraphs, fair
labor and family leave laws fall under the department's wage and
hour division, while some other questions can be directed to OSHA.
"The best thing about our service is it's free, and you can even
print out the posters you need off the Web site," Fuqua says.
A good place to get help in sorting through
the federal regulatory maze is the U.S. government's information
center. Call toll-free (800) 688-9889. Ask how to reach the various
offices you need to talk to.
On the state level, business owners can call
their state labor departments. For instance, the California Department
of Industrial Relations provides posters for businesses that call
or access its Web
site. Another possible resource is your state's chamber
of commerce -- some state chambers have taken on the task of
informing their members about poster laws.
The lawyer or accountant who handles your business
may be willing and able to check into this for you. If it's a reasonably
priced service, or if this person is willing to do it to get your
business, this can be a good idea.
The third way to keep up with the changing laws
is to hire a company that specializes in supplying workplace posters.
There are many of them, including G. Neil Cos.,
Personnel
Concepts Limited, HRdirect
and the Federal Wage and
Labor Law Institute.
Many of the companies give you a choice: You
can order a set of federal and state posters whenever you think
you need a new set, or subscribe to a service that automatically
keeps you up to date on changes that would affect your business.
G. Neil president Terence Jukes estimates that
30 percent of the states have a rules change in a year, while federal
changes happen more slowly. As many as
80 percent of G. Neil's customers are small businesses, Jukes says,
who don't want to spend the time necessary to keep up with all the
changes.
"Any company with one employee has to comply
with some sort of posting," he says, "but the size of the company
often dictates what posters you need. For instance, a company with
less than 50 employees probably doesn't have to comply with the
family leave law.
"But there are other good reasons to post these
things," Jukes says. "Educating employees, for one. For instance,
some employees working for a small business might think they are
entitled to what the family leave act says, but a poster sets the
record straight. It can make things easier for employees who have
questions."
Kyle Parks is a freelance
writer based in Florida
To comment on this story, please e-mail the
Bankrate.com
editors
-- Updated Jan.
25, 2002
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