New FMLA Poster

Just when you weren’t looking, the United States Department of Labor issued a new
FMLA poster. The new poster can be found at the following link:
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/fmlaen.pdf. The issuance of this new
poster is a good reminder to all human resources professionals of the need to ensure that all
workplace postings are kept up to date. We normally think of the need to update our workplace
posters every January 1, which is when most minimum wage amounts are increased in each state.
But you can’t rely on the idea that changes occur each calendar year – several states have
minimum wages that increase in July, sometimes in addition to a January increase and other
times as a stand alone increase. In addition, new laws are passed all the time by both federal and
state legislative bodies and their effective dates can occur any time during the year. Human
resources professionals need to be vigilant to keep abreast of the changes to the law.


It is a good idea to create a chart of the workplace posters that you are required to
maintain in your workplace and to include links as to where those posters can be found
electronically. This allows you to easily and periodically check the links to discover if there
have been any changes to existing posters or new posters that have been issued by state or
federal agencies. It is also a good idea to remember that, when you have individuals who work
for you remotely, you need to send them annual updates to the “posters” that you have provided
to them for “posting” in their home workplace.


The good news is that, in the announcement regarding the new FMLA poster, the
Department of Labor has expressly stated that previous versions of the poster, issued in April
2016 and February 2013, still meet the requirements of the law. That means if you missed the
new poster, but have properly posted and distributed the previous versions of the poster, you are
in compliance with the law. The bad news is that the Department of Labor also announced an
upcoming change to the EEOC’s “Know Your Rights” poster to include information regarding
the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which goes into effect on June 27, 2023.


This announcement supports the importance of having an easy link to workplace posters
that you can check periodically. Here is a link to the EEOC poster requirements:
https://www.eeoc.gov/poster. The version that they currently provide here was updated in
October 2022. You should set a reminder on your calendar beginning in mid-June to check this
site for an updated version of this poster. Or, stay tuned at myHRcounsel and we will notify you
when the updated poster is available.