EEOC Rolls Out New Mandatory Workplace Poster

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced it was replacing its “EEO is the Law” poster with a new poster entitled “Know Your Rights.”

Employers are required to post the EEOC’s new poster in their premises in conspicuous places. Failure to do so is punishable by a fine of $569 for each separate offense. Additionally, for federal contractors, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs will confirm compliance as part of any audit.

As the new name implies, the poster summarizes the rights of employees and union members under the laws enforced by the EEOC:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Equal Pay Act
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act
• Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act  

The poster also provides information on how to file a charge of discrimination.

Compared to the “EEO is the Law” poster, the new “Know Your Rights” poster includes the following changes:

• Uses straightforward language;
• Notes that harassment is a prohibited form of discrimination;
• States that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity; and
• Adds a QR code for fast digital access to the EEOC’s webpage on how to file a charge.

By statute, Know Your Rights is to be “posted in conspicuous places upon its premises where notices to employees, applicants for employment, and members are customarily to be posted.” The EEOC also encourages employers to post Know Your Rights digitally on their websites in a conspicuous location. On its website, the EEOC asserts that, for employers without a physical location or for employees who telework or work remotely and do not visit the employer’s workplace on a regular basis, a digital posting of Know Your Rights “may be the only posting.”

If you have further questions about the new poster or the EEOC, contact the Jackson Lewis attorney with whom you usually work.