Thursday, January 31, 2013

Labor Law Compliance Posters: What to Keep In Mind While Displaying Them

Since ancient times, men have worked for one another for payment. This was prevalent from agricultural times, when a farmer hired extra hands for working in his fields. They were mostly paid in kind, meaning they took home a part of the harvest for their homes. As society kept on progressing, different avenues of employment became available to man. Due to there being no common rules and regulations on employing people, many employees were constantly mistreated and misused. These led to people realizing the need for ethical treatment of workers and demanded that a set of rules should be made that would prevent maltreatment of workers. Seeing this, labor laws began to be implemented in various countries. Today, different countries have different rules regarding their employees, which help in their proper treatment.


Today, in the United States, one of the common practices followed in all states is displaying the labor law compliance posters. These posters are placed in common areas of the offices and enterprises, so as to provide the employees with all the relevant information regarding their office and the labor laws being implemented in their state. It has been made mandatory by the government of the United States that these posters be placed in all offices. Many employers may not be comfortable with this as they believe that it will enable their employees to take legal action against them. However, this should be followed strictly, as refusal to follow this law can result in strict penalties for the company.

The main aim of these posters is to make the employees aware about their rights, while working in the company. It also tells them about how to address any problems they are facing regarding their employment. Therefore, all these posters must contain valid information regarding the following topics:

  • Employment Conditions: The conditions regarding the employment of an individual to a company should be made as clear as possible during the interview. This should be done by providing a contract to the employee and making him sign it after understanding the implications.
  • Minimum Wage: Apart from federal rulers, every state has laws regarding the minimum wage that should be offered to any employee. The minimum wage requirements should be clearly mentioned on the poster.
  • Working Times and Overtime Allowances: In the United States the maximum hours a person has to work is 8 hours. The working time must be clearly mentioned on the poster to everyone’s notice. Overtime conditions must also be clearly stated regarding extra pay and overtime allowed.
  • Health and Safety: All health and safety related benefits that are provided by the employer, must be made clear to the employee according to the laws of the state and keeping in mind federal regulations too.

Keeping all these topics in mind the, labor law compliance posters must be displayed in areas frequently visited by the employees. As these laws are changed from time to time, it is important that the employers keep updating themselves regarding these laws to ensure proper functioning of the company.

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