labor lawAdivision of labor law center

As 2008 approaches, employers need to check their labor law posters to make sure the information is up to date.

The 2008 Arizona labor law posters have gone through several changes and companies need to take appropriate action. As a result of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, the federal minimum wage rose for the first time in about 10 years from $5.15 per hour to $5.85 per hour. Several states raised their minimum wages at the same time.

During 2007, many other states, including Texas, Maine, Utah, and North Carolina established higher state minimum wages, too.

Other changes occurred to labor laws in 2007 that required companies to modernize their posters. For example, a new tough ban on smoking at work was established in Ohio. Businesses there had to post no-smoking signs at every entrance.

The 2008 Arizona labor law posters that every employer must display are:

• Workers’ Compensation
• Unemployment Insurance
• Arizona Discrimination Notice
• Work Exposure to Bodily Fluids
• Constructive Discharge Notice
• OSHA - Health and Safety Protection

In addition, under federal law, every Arizona employer must display the following posters that cover U.S. labor law:

• USERRA - Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
• Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law
• Federal Minimum Wage
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act
• Family and Medical Leave Act
• OSHA-Job Safety & Health Protection

In other changes to labor law in 2007, Illinois also enacted a tough law regarding smoking. Almost every work environment, even restaurants bars and casinos are now non-smoking. Labor law posters will need to be updated as a result of these changes.

Until October, teens in Alaska could be employed by a gas station or convenience store that sold cigarettes. And though it was already illegal in Alaska for anyone under the age of 19 to buy cigarettes, people were concerned that these teens could be selling cigarettes to friends who might be underage. The Child Labor Laws, therefore, were amended to prohibit anyone under the age of 19 from selling cigarettes.

In addition to the changes in 2007, more changes are scheduled to occur in 2008.

On January 1 and July 1, 2008, over 20 states will increase their state minimum wage.

On July 24, 2008, the federal minimum wage will go up again time from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour. Again, the states that bump their minimum wage when the federal rate rises, will increase their minimum wage rates on that day.

More than a dozen states will increase their minimum wages on January 1, 2008. These include Delaware, Oregon, Washington, California, Florida, Iowa, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Vermont, Colorado, Arizona, Missouri, Montanan and Ohio. The lowest rate to be increased is in Montana, where the state minimum wage will increase from $6.15 per hour to $6.26. In Missouri and New Mexico, the state rate will go to $6.50.

One of the major changes during 2007 related to minimum wage. The federal minimum wage, as a result of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, went from $5.15 to $5.85 per hour. Nearly a dozen states increased their minimum wage on the same day.

Also, during the 2007, several other states, including Utah, Washington, Oregon, and West Virginia increased their state minimum wage.

Both state and federal law require that every employer prominently display the posters in an area where they can been seen by every employee. Popular locations are a bulletin board, near the time clock or in the break room.

The most common reason for employers to update posters includes statute changes, especially to minimum wage laws. In just the past few months, employers in New Hampshire, Nevada and Maine have updated their labor law posters as the state minimum wages changed. The most recent increase was on October 1, 2007 when the New Hampshire minimum wage increased to $6.50 per hour.

 

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