labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs or OFCCP has updated the “Equal Employment Opportunity is The Law” poster required for nearly every employer in the US.

 

What are the major differences between the new poster and the older version? There are several. But the most important difference is that the EEOC and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs will no longer accept the old version of the poster. Having an old version posted is the same as having no poster on display, to these federal regulatory agencies. So each employer should update his or her poster immediately.

 

The new EEO or Equal Employment Opportunity poster reflects a number of changes to the law in the past year. These include changes to veterans rights, to the application of laws to employment agencies and labor organizations such as unions. In addition, the updated poster includes important information on employee rights such as limits on reporting and retaliation.

 

This poster applies to every employer, whether or not they currently have federal contracts. While some provisions directly address requirements for federal contractors, others relate to virtually all businesses in the country, including state and local government agencies.

 

The ESA or Employment Standards Administration, a division of the US Department of Labor, enforces these poster regulations.

 

The biggest change in the updated poster is the expansion of veterans employment rights under JVA, the Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002. Under recent changes to these regulations, two additional groups of veterans are protected. The law has been expanded to include every veteran separated from military service in the past 3 years, under the heading of Recently Separated Veterans.

 

In addition, a new category of Other Protected Veterans has been added. Combat veterans of almost any era are included in this group, from World War II vets to veterans of Operation Desert Storm, and the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

 

The updated poster also includes information on retaliation for veterans. While these regulations are not new, their inclusion on the required poster is.

 

Other changes include adding employment agencies and labor organizations, including labor unions, to those covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law and its amendments prohibit discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, and national origin. The new poster makes it clear that reusing to accommodate an employee’s religious practices is illegal (unless it poses an undue hardship to the employer.)

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