How to comply with new EEOC poster requirement in hybrid workplaces
Courtesy / Preti Flaherty
Harper Weissburg practices with Preti Flaherty’s employment law and litigation groups.
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It is a new year and there are new poster requirements that employers should be aware of. Last fall, the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its “EEO is the Law” poster and replaced it with a new one: “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal.” The new poster was updated Oct. 20, 2022.
Although there is no firm deadline for replacing the poster, employers are expected to update their posters within a reasonable amount of time. When updating the EEO poster, be sure to use the version marked as “Revised 10/20/2022.”
Background
The EEOC enforces several federal laws (e.g., Title VII, ADA, ADEA, GINA) that prohibit discrimination and require covered employers to post a notice summarizing the law and explaining how employees or applicants can file a charge of discrimination. To streamline notice-posting compliance efforts under these laws, the EEOC requires covered employers to prominently display a single poster that includes information about discrimination based on race, color, sex (including pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, religion, age, equal pay, disability, genetic information and retaliation.
The new “Know Your Rights” poster differs from the old “EEO is the Law” poster in several ways. The new poster uses plain language and bullet points to more effectively inform workers about their legal rights and how to contact the EEOC for assistance. Substantively, the new poster adds information about equal pay discrimination for federal contractors, adds harassment as a prohibited form of discrimination, and clarifies that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Covered employers
Generally, federal law requires private sector and state and local government employers with 15 or more employees to comply with this notice-posting requirement.
Penalties for non-compliance
Failure to comply is currently punishable by a fine of $612 for each separate offense. However, in the next several months, the EEOC will increase the maximum penalty to account for inflation. The adjusted penalty will apply only to penalties assessed after the adjustment goes into effect.
Compliance in hybrid workplaces
The EEOC has tailored different versions of the “Know Your Rights Poster” for online or physical posting. Covered employers with hybrid workplaces still need to place posters in a conspicuous location in the physical workplace where notices to applicants and employees are customarily posted. The EEOC has also issued new guidance indicating that employers with hybrid workplaces should supplement the physical posting by adding the digital notice to their websites.
If there is no physical workplace location and all employees telework, the employer must post the notice digitally so that employees and job applicants may access it.
Other compliance best practices
Employers should also pay attention to accessibility issues when complying with the poster requirement. The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requires that employers place the poster in physical locations that are accessible to applicants and employees with disabilities that limit mobility. Employers should also make printed notices available in an accessible format to persons with disabilities that limit the ability to see or read. For example, employers that post the version of the poster optimized for screen readers to their websites are more likely to ensure access for employees and applicants with disabilities that require use of screen reader technology (e.g., blindness, visual impairment). Notices can also be recorded on an audio file or read to applicants or employees with such disabilities.
The poster is available in English and Spanish; the EEOC is translating the poster into other languages, which will be available on its website.
Keep in mind that in addition to the posting requirement for federal discrimination law, employers are subject to poster requirements under other state and federal laws. It is a good idea to routinely check to make sure all applicable poster requirements are being complied with.
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