As we noted on the blog in February and discussed during our annual Hot Topics in Employment Law Seminar on April 25, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”), which will require employers subject to Title VII to provide covered employees with reasonable accommodations necessitated by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, will take effect June 27, and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (“PUMP”) Act, which expands existing employer obligations to include providing pumping breaks for exempt employees covered by the Act, went into effect April 28. With the passage of these new laws and amendments comes new workplace posters required by the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) reflecting changes to employee rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). Here’s what employers should know:
DOL’s Updated FLSA Minimum Wage Poster
Prior to the PUMP Act, breaks for lactating mothers to pump or express breastmilk were limited to non-exempt workers covered by FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime protections. Now, this extends to exempt employees who are not otherwise subject to the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the FLSA.
Employers must communicate these rights to their employees and are required to display certain posters or notices regarding such rights in the workplace. In this case, the updated April 2023 DOL posters should replace the August 2016 DOL FLSA Minimum Wage posters and be displayed at the worksite in a prominent and accessible place where they can easily be seen by both employees and job applicants.[1]
DOL’s Updated FMLA Poster
With respect to changes prompted by the PWFA, the DOL’s revised 2023 FMLA poster clarifies that while FMLA leave is typically unpaid, an employee can choose or be required to use employer-provided paid leave concurrently with FMLA. However, unlike the minimum wage posters, DOL states that the April 2016 and February 2013 versions of the FMLA poster still satisfy the FMLA posting requirement. Therefore, while employers are not required to replace their existing FMLA posters, it is still recommended to display the most current version of all workplace posters.
EEOC’s Revised ‘Know Your Rights’ Poster
In October 2022, the EEOC released a new “Know Your Rights” poster to replace its 2009 “Equal Employment Opportunity Is the Law” poster and 2015 “EEO Is The Law” supplement. The new poster was designed to be easier to read, with a question-and-answer format and bullet points. It also provides a QR code for employees to instantaneously access additional information about their rights and submit a charge of discrimination electronically.[2] As with the DOL posters, employers should display the most current version of the EEOC “Know Your Rights” poster at their worksites.
Additionally, the EEOC has a separate poster that specifically discusses the PWFA and possible accommodations.[3]
As additional information becomes available, we will provide further updates.
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