Why this matters
Employers may need specific workplace notices displayed where staff can see them, depending on factors such as business type, size, contracts, and jurisdiction. Use official federal and state tools to determine which notices apply. The posters are free from the government, but skipping this invites citations during any labor inspection.
What "done" looks like
- You know which federal and state posters apply to your business
- Current versions hang in a spot employees actually pass (break room, time clock)
- Remote workers get the notices electronically where allowed
- A yearly reminder exists to check for updated versions
How to do it
- Run the DOL's FirstStep Poster Advisor (elaws on dol.gov), it tells you which federal posters your business must display.
- Download the federal posters free from dol.gov and osha.gov, including the FLSA minimum wage poster and the OSHA job safety poster.
- Check your state labor department site for state minimum wage, workers' comp, unemployment, and paid-leave notices.
- Hang everything in one visible spot employees pass daily, not in a locked office.
- Recheck each January, minimum wage and state notices change often.
Common mistakes
- Paying a poster vendor for documents the DOL and your state give away free
- Posting only federal notices and forgetting state-specific ones
- Hanging posters where customers see them but employees do not, the legal test is employee visibility
Real-world examples
- The U.S. Department of Labor provides all federally required posters at no cost and runs the elaws Poster Advisor to tell employers which apply
- OSHA's "Job Safety and Health: It's the Law" poster is free directly from osha.gov
- A common pattern: official-looking mail from private poster companies implies a mandatory fee, the notices are always free from the agencies
From a founder's point of view
This is a thirty-minute task that closes off an entire category of citation. The trap is not difficulty, it is the scam mail that makes free government paperwork look like a bill.
Rule of thumb
If a new hire can read the minimum wage poster while making coffee, you are done. If you paid anyone for the posters, you overpaid.
