The Importance of Following Federal Poster Requirements
Last Updated on October 21, 2022 / Recordkeeping
Question:
According to the Federal Poster Requirements: Workplace Posters Overview, there are so many posters and compliance documents that I am supposed to provide to my employees, are they really important? None of my employees read the posters that are up in the break room and I know they never read the compliance information I put in their open enrollment packets, why bother?
Answer:
The reason we bother is because the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act care about these posting and notices and will fine organizations when they do not comply with Federal Poster Requirements. In January 2017, the penalties for such violations just increased. So…the next time you think “why bother”…keep in mind the impact of not bothering. In the Payroll Department, Inc blog article “Civil Penalties for DOL Violations Increase January, 2017″, some of the Federal Poster Requirement violations are:
- Don’t want to post the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) notice? $166
- Don’t want to pass out that annoying-ly long Summary of Benefits for your health plans? $1105 (And, each enrollee is a separate violation!)
- Have a safe work environment and don’t want to post the OSHA poster? $7000!
Penalties for failing to furnish information, required notifications, and failing to maintain necessary records are often assessed per employee, per day and can add up very quickly. So, keep this in mind if you ever find yourself asking “why bother?”
Recordkeeping is one f the more mundane tasks associated with Human Resources, but is extremely important and can get you into hot water if not done properly. Keeping appropriate recruiting and hiring documentation is vital to proving, if needed, your employment processes are compliant. Strategic HR has a great online tool that’s affordable, easily downloaded and ready for immediate use. Our Recordkeeping desktop reference has everything you need to see at-a-glance recordkeeping requirements mandated by law. Visit our Desktop Reference page to learn more.
