Labor Law Requirements for Hybrid and Remote Workers

remote work employee happy and engaged with labor law posters

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

(Editor’s Note: Today’s article is brought to you by our friends at Poster Guard® Poster Compliance Service from HRdirect, the leading labor law poster service that gets your business up to date with all the required federal, state, and local labor law postings, and then keeps it that way – for an entire year. Enjoy the article!)

While we’re seeing news headlines about organizations having challenges bringing employees back to the workplace, there are many organizations embracing hybrid and remote work. According to EY’s Future Workplace Index, approximately 60% of companies are operating with a hybrid work model.

Embracing flexible work completely makes sense. There are many benefits for both employers and employees. For organizations, there’s a cost savings in rent, utilities, cleaning, equipment, etc. It can also create benefits in attracting talent. A Pew Research Center study says that about a third of U.S. workers who can work from home do so. 

For employees, remote work can save money in terms of working attire, commute expenses, and childcare expenses. It can also positively contribute to overall wellbeing. And technology tools are allowing remote workers to still communicate, collaborate, and get work done.  

But all this talk about remote work does raise the question, how do organizations communicate with employees when it comes to topics like labor law compliance postings. I know organizations need to be focused on getting the work done, but we also need to make sure all employees know their rights as required by federal, state, and local law.

We recently published an article about labor law posting requirements for remote employees, so I asked our friend Lillian Chavez, Esq., managing legal research attorney at ComplyRight for some additional insights. Lillian leads the expert legal team for the Poster Guard Compliance Service. Please remember that Lillian’s comments shouldn’t be construed as legal advice or as pertaining to any specific factual situations. If you have detailed questions, they should be addressed with your friendly neighborhood labor and employment law attorney.

Lillian, thanks for being here. Before we start talking about the posting requirements for remote employees. It might be good to discuss, in general, the current posting requirements for organizations. 

[Chavez] Sure. All employers must post federal, state, and local (if applicable) postings. The mandatory federal notices that most employers are required to post include:

In addition, there could be up to 19 additional state-specific posters, depending upon what state you’re in … and up to 11 additional posters for city/county compliance. 

Oh, and don’t forget there are additional posters for government contractors and certain industries. The topics for these state, local, and industry-specific postings include child labor, fair employment, family/medical leave rights, human trafficking, minimum wage, safety, smoking in the workplace, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and more. 

For HR professionals who just read that list and are saying to themselves, “I have no idea if we have the right posters!” is there a government site that will tell them everything they need? 

[Chavez] Unfortunately, there’s not a ‘one-stop shop’ where employers can get all the government-issued notices for federal, state, and local compliance. The postings are issued by multiple different government agencies. Very few of the agencies work together, so the only way to ensure compliance is to check each issuing agency’s requirements directly.  

For federal and state posters, there are about 175 different agencies responsible for issuing more than 500 posters nationwide. Add to that the approximately 22,000 local jurisdictions that have the authority to issue their own postings. That’s a lot of follow-up and unfortunately, these agencies aren’t required to coordinate efforts. 

Okay, so potentially HR professionals have several many a lot of sites to check. But do labor law posters really change that often?

[Chavez] Surprisingly, they do. Our Poster Guard legal team monitors posting changes and has reported a significant increase over the past few years.  In 2023, the team tracked more than 200 mandatory poster updates impacting U.S. employers, and this number is expected to increase in 2024 as state and local employment laws continue to evolve at a record pace. Most employers are aware of poster updates relating to minimum wage increases, but other poster changes are just as critical. It can be a challenge to stay on top of all these updates because the government agencies don’t notify employers when requirements change. Also, be aware that mandatory posting changes are issued throughout the year, not just in January.

Let’s shift our conversation to remote workers. How do current labor law posting requirements impact them?

[Chavez] By law, you’re required to provide these mandatory notices to ALL employees. That includes employees who work from home, offsite, on the road, at mall kiosks, in mobile service units, out in the field, at construction checkpoints, and other remote worksites. 

Does this mean that HR departments need to send remote workers full-size laminated posters to hang in their spare bedrooms/home office?

[Chavez] No, but it does mean that employees need to receive notices. Although the regulations don’t specify the format — paper or electronic — organizations are responsible for communicating the same information to their remote workers as those onsite. For employees who work on computers as part of their jobs, the most effective way to distribute the posters is through electronic delivery. We recommend using a solution that enables your employees to download, view, and acknowledge receipt of all required postings and posting updates. This satisfies your obligation to communicate their rights, and the acknowledgments provide additional support in the event of a dispute. 

What other information do remote workers need to receive? For instance, if a company has remote employees who work in different states, which posting requirements should they follow? Those from the state where the company is headquartered or the state where the employee works?

[Chavez] Unfortunately, it’s not always clear which state laws apply in this instance. Most basic employment rights — such as minimum wage, overtime, and safety issues — are governed by the laws where the employee performs the work. However, depending on how your company is structured and the nature of work performed, your out-of-state employees may be covered by both states’ laws. Because it depends on so many factors, we recommend you provide remote workers with access to both sets of state-specific postings in this situation.

Hypothetically, what if an organization is offering a hybrid work schedule where employees primarily work from home, but they report to the office headquarters occasionally? Do they still need to send posters electronically?

[Chavez] FAQs published by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) suggest that, if an employee reports to a company’s physical location at least 3-4 times a month, the physical postings at the business are adequate. If not, the USDOL recommends electronic delivery.

Last question. I could hear some people saying, “Labor law posters aren’t a big deal. If we don’t have them or don’t have the right ones, we’ll just get a warning.” What’s the penalty for businesses that aren’t in compliance?

[Chavez] Recently, the amount for federal posting fines increased to more than $42,000 per violation, per location. State and local fines typically range from $100 to $1000 each. Government fines can add up, but the real danger is with employment litigation. A missing or outdated posting can impact damages and can even ‘toll’ or extend the statute of limitations. And as your readers know, the statute of limitations can often be an employer’s best friend in defending claims, as this is the defense that allows you to have old claims dismissed and also limits damages in the case of repeated violations or class actions. 

A HUGE thanks to Lillian for sharing her knowledge with us. If you want to learn more about how to make sure your posting requirements are up to date, I hope you’ll check out Poster Guard’s Poster Compliance Service. Today’s technology makes providing remote workers with their postings easy. They also guarantee their work against government posting fines. Organizations can also add on e-service for remote workers and an intranet licensing posting service. 

Organizations must manage many priorities and compliance is one of them. It’s important to the organizational bottom-line. When employees – regardless of where they work – know that organizations are transparent about their rights, it creates trust and builds engagement.

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