Employers are required to post many types of notices in the workplace, some required by federal law, and some by the various state laws.  Notices are generally required to be placed in a conspicuous location in the workplace where notices to applicants and employees are customarily posted.  The EEOC offers ready-to-print posters and it is important to use the EEOC poster revised and re-issued on October 20, 2022.  It is known as the "Know Your Rights" poster, replacing the previous "EEO is the Law" poster.  The new poster attempts to use simpler formatting and language, and notes that harassment is an employment practice that can be challenged as discriminatory, and states that sex discrimination can also encompass pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.  It provides a code that allows employees quick digital access to the EEOC's "How to File A Charge of Employment Discrimination" webpage, and includes a section covering equal pay discrimination for federal contractors.

Employers are advised to replace their old posters with the updated poster.  Although the only stated penalties for not using the appropriate poster are minor fines, the failure to have the proper poster published suggests to the EEOC and complainant's attorneys, that the employer does not responsibly embrace the EEO laws.  In rare cases, the failure to have the poster published suggests an opportunity for a plaintiff to argue a "tolling" of the applicable statute of limitations for filing an EEOC charge.

This article is part of our December 2022 Newsletter.

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