Is your company covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the ADA, or GINA? If yes, you may want to pay attention to the recent EEOC announcement regarding the penalty for violating the notice posting requirements under these three laws. If ignored, big fines could be headed your way.
Effective July 5, 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is increasing the monetary civil penalties for violations of the notice-posting requirements of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA). The maximum penalty increases from $210 to $525 per violation. Under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, however, the EEOC is now required to adjust maximum civil penalties on a yearly basis.
Who's Affected?
Every employer (defined as having 15 or more employees who worked for the employer at least 20 calendar weeks in this year or last year), employment agency, labor organization, and joint labor-management committee controlling a training program covered by Title VII, ADA, or GINA must post notices describing the relevant sections of Title VII, ADA, or GINA. They must post the notices in a prominent and accessible place where such notices to employees, applicants, or members are generally posted. Please be cognizant of the fact that even if you have under 15 employees you will still have other federal and state posting requirements.
The EEOC has issued the following guidelines and tips for employers regarding the required "EEO is the Law" poster:
- In addition to posting the required poster, employers are encouraged to post the electronic notice on their internal websites in a conspicuous location. In most cases, electronic posting supplements physical posting but does not itself fulfill employers' basic obligations to physically post the required information in their workplaces. In some situations (e.g., employees who telework and do not visit the employer's workplace on a regular basis), it may be required in addition to physical posting.
- The ADA requires that notices of federal laws prohibiting job discrimination be made available in a location that is accessible to applicants and employees with disabilities that limit mobility.
- Printed notices should also be made available in an accessible format, as needed, to persons with disabilities that limit the ability to see or read. Notices can be recorded on an audio file, provided in an electronic format that can be utilized by screen-reading technology, or read to applicants or employees with disabilities that limit seeing or reading ability.
Other Posting News
The DOL recently issued a new FMLA poster to replace the previous one required to be displayed by employers. For the time being, the DOL is not requiring employers to replace their existing posters until further notice.