Know Your Rights posting penalty goes up

The penalty for failing to post the Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal posting has gone up to $680 for each separate offense.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the increase in the Federal Register on February 16. The higher fine applies to penalties assessed on or after that date.

Employers with 15 or more employees must display the Know Your Rights poster, which describes employee rights under these anti-discrimination laws:

• The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act,
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
• The Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA), and
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Covered employers must display the poster in prominent areas where notices for employees and applicants are customarily displayed (e.g., common entryway, break room, etc.).

Annual increase required under law

The EEOC increases the Know Your Rights posting penalty each year, as required under the federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act.

Other federal agencies have also increased posting penalties in 2024. The Department of Labor announced these increases in January:

• Family and Medical Leave Act: $211 for each separate offense
• Occupational Safety and Health Act: $16,131 for each violation
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act: $25,597 for any violation of the law (including a posting violation)

These increases bring the total maximum posting fines to $42,619.

Avoiding posting penalties

To avoid posting penalties, properly display all required labor law posters. To do this:

• Display postings required under federal, state, and local laws.
• Place posters in a prominent area that is easily accessible to employees.
• Make sure the Know Your Rights posting is also easily accessible to applicants.
• Ensure that applicants also have easy access to the Employee Polygraph Protection Act and federal Family and Medical Leave Act postings.
• Keep posters updated. Display the Know Your rights poster with the revision date of 06/27/2023.
• Make sure posters are readable and not defaced.

If employees work remotely, it is a best practice to make the posters electronically available, such as on a company intranet.

Key to remember: Employers face greater penalties for failing to properly display labor law posters.