labor lawAdivision of labor law center

With 2008 just days away, it is especially important that employers update their 2008 Louisiana labor law posters. Each year brings a number of changes to the state labor laws, and this year certainly had more than its share. Updated posters include the Earned Income Credit poster, the Timely Payment of Wages poster and the poster on Age Discrimination.

The updated list of 2008 Louisiana labor law posters is:

• Earned Income Credit
• Timely Payment of Wages
• Age Discrimination
• Out-Of-State Motor Vehicles
• Workers’ Compensation
• Employers Support/Guard & Reserves (National Guard)
• Unemployment Insurance
• Smoking Policy
• Sickle Cell Anemia Discrimination
• Child Labor
• Genetic Information/Discrimination

Employers are required to display each of these posters in a prominent location where they can be viewed by both employees and applicants.

In addition, all employers must display updated federal labor law posters including:

• 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

Labor law poster serve as a handy reminder for supervisors and employees alike.

They provide important information on the minimum wage, worker safety, medical leave and child labor laws.

Under both federal and state law, these posters must be updated each time there is a change in legislation.

A change in the federal minimum wage on July 24, 2007 required that the Federal Minimum Wage posters be updated. On that date, the federal minimum wage increased for the first time in more than a decade. The rate went from $5.15 per hour to $5.85 per hour, an increase of 70 cents. 

From state to state, there is a wide range of overtime laws and rules governing the minimum wage for employees who receive tips. That’s why each state requires a different set of labor law posters.

The federal minimum wage rate for tipped workers is now $2.13 an hour. Some states follow the federal rate. Among them are Kentucky, Indiana, and Nebraska, which also set the rate at $2.13.

Other states offer just a little more than the federal rate. For example, Wisconsin is $2.33 an hour, North Carolina is $2.43, Michigan is $2.65 and Massachusetts is $2.63.

Kansas, on the other hand, is lower than the federal rate. Its minimum wage for tipped workers is only $1.59 an hour.

Essentially, employers are getting “tip credits,” or the right to offer a lower than normal minimum wage because the workers in these fields receive tips which are supposed to compensate.

Some states allow employers very little tip credit. In other words, tipped workers get larger minimum wages – sometimes very close to the wages of workers who do not receive tips. For example, in the state of Washington, there is no tip credit, so workers will be getting $8.07 an hour starting January 1. In Colorado, tipped workers will receive $4.00 an hour in 2008. In Hawaii, employers get only a 25-cent an hour tip credit. In other words, tipped workers get $7 an hour rather than the regular $7.25. But in Michigan, tipped employees receive a minimum wage of just $2.65 an hour.

Federal law requires an overtime rate of 1.5 times the usual hourly rate for each hour over 40 (called “time-and-a-half”). Some states have no overtime provision of their own so they follow the federal law – Delaware, Arizona, Idaho, Georgia, and Florida among them. Nebraska mirrors the federal regulations but extends them to all businesses with 4 or more workers. Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts and Nebraska also begin overtime after a 40-hour week. Kansas starts it at 46 hours and Minnesota at 48.

In California, workers are entitled to overtime after working 8 hours in a single day and 40 hours in a week.

If you aren’t familiar with the Louisiana ( LA ) Employment Labor Posters, let me explain what they are. Both the state of Louisiana as well as the Federal government have mandated that certain laws pertaining to labor be posted on the walls of every place of employment. By hanging these posters in a place that all employees visit—like the lunch room, break room, mail room, or an often-used meeting area—the employer ensures that everyone in his or her company is familiar with the labor laws in the state of Louisiana. These posters are generally required for everyone, although some of the laws pertain to only larger or smaller businesses so you may notice that some employers do not have all the posters at their workplace.

I was looking over the Louisiana ( LA ) Employment Labor Posters, and frankly I noticed that Louisiana requires a larger number of posters than many states. Plus, there are some new ones that will be required starting this year. The new Louisiana ( LA ) Employment Labor Posters include Earned Income Credit Law, Timely Payment of Wages Law, and Age Discrimination Law. Employers are required to know when the labor law poster requirements are changed, so they should have already made this important change.

In addition to these new labor posters, Louisiana also requires Out-Of-State Motor Vehicles, Workers’ Compensation, Employers Support/Guard & Reserves (National Guard), Unemployment Insurance, Smoking Policy, Sickle Cell Anemia Discrimination, Child Labor, and Genetic Information/Discrimination.

Now, those are the state requirements for employment labor posters. Next let’s talk about the Federal posting requirements. These include the following posters: 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, and OSHA-Job Safety & Health Protection.

I thought now would be a good time to discuss the labor law posters for Louisiana because recently Louisiana has added three new posting requirements. The labor law posters for Louisiana must be displayed in workplaces throughout Louisiana. The exact federal and state postings that are required vary depending on the type and size of the business.

There are many required state postings for the labor law posters for Louisiana. Employers are required to know when the labor law posting requirements change and to make the appropriate changes. Therefore, employers should now be following the three new state requirements. They are: Earned Income Credit, Timely Payment of Wages, and Age Discrimination. The other required state postings for labor law posters for Louisiana are: Out-of-State Motor Vehicles, Child Labor, Genetic Information Discrimination, Workers’ Compensation, Smoking Policy, Unemployment Insurance, and Employers Support / Guard and Reserves (National Guard).

The labor law posters for Louisiana need to be displayed in a conspicuous area in the workplace. This means they need to be in an area where they are obvious. The labor law posters for Louisiana should also be kept clean of any other writing and anything else that would obstruct the information on the poster. Therefore, it’s probably a good idea for the posters to be covered in glass or clear plastic.

Employees should know where the labor law posters for Louisiana are located and what the posters read. Since the laws are meant to protect employees, they should make sure they know about them. Otherwise, the laws won’t be effective. The employees should report any violation of the laws that are on the labor law posters for Louisiana. The law forbids any type of retaliation for reporting such incidents.

The labor law posters for Louisiana are meant to protect employees and to help employers to know the law. Any employer who doesn’t display the labor law posters for Louisiana in the correct place and/or doesn’t display the most up-to-date posters is in violation of the law.

There have been quite a few changes made to Louisiana Labor Law Posters, so I figured that now was as good a time as any to connect with you all and make you aware of them. I am talking about those posters that Louisiana states all employers must display. The posters must be visible and accessible to employees so they can be kept apprised of their labor rights. These Louisiana Labor Law Posters include individual state and federal labor law notices that are mandated by the state of Louisiana. You’ll find them in break rooms or lunch rooms, or anywhere else employees frequently congregate.

There’s quite a bit of information on Louisiana Labor Law Posters, so carve aside some time to read them through. The state posters address Earned Income Credit, Timely Payment of Wages, Age Discrimination, Out of State Motor Vehicles, Workers’ Compensation, Employers’ Support/Guard and Reserves, Unemployment Insurance, Smoking Policy, Sickle Cell Anemia Discrimination, Child Labor, and Genetic Information/Discrimination.

The federal posters explain Equal Opportunity Employment, Federal Minimum Wage, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and OSHA’s Job Safety and Health Protection Act.

I also wanted to mention that Louisiana Labor Law Posters are changed frequently. And it’s the law to have a current one posted. Regardless, it’s probably a good idea for both employers and employees to have the most current labor laws at hand. Employers who are interested in complying with the law will make sure their posters are up to date, and should also know that Louisiana Labor Law Posters are among the first things looked at during a Department of Labor inspection.

I mentioned previously that there were quite a few changes made to Louisiana Labor Law Posters, and I’m guessing you are probably wondering what they are! The posters have completely new notices that explain the laws surrounding earned income credit, timely payment of wages, and age discrimination. If you haven’t checked out Louisiana Labor Law Posters recently, now is a good time to do so!

Hope this info helps!

As the state cracks down on employers who try to illegally avoid paying state unemployment taxes, many employers are ordering posters from services that provide labor law posters for Louisiana.

The tax avoidance technique, dubbed “SUTA Dumping” by Louisiana Works, the State Department of Labor, is used by unethical employers to reduce their taxes under the State Unemployment Tax Act, or SUTA.

A new law went into effect in August that provides stiffer penalties for companies that engage in SUTA dumping. House Bill 443 provides fines of up to $10,000 for each incident, plus a prison term up to 6 months. Because SUTA cases often include dozens or even hundreds of employees, the losses could be enormous.

In addition, each incident of SUTA dumping is subject to additional penalties up to $5,000. The fines for attorneys and accountants who abet their clients in SUTA dumping are identical. The State of Louisiana has recently adopted new automated detection software that will aid in detecting SUTA dumpers.

With the increased attention focused on Unemployment Insurance, now is a great time for all employers to make sure their mandatory Notice to Worker (Unemployment Insurance) posters are up to date. State law provides penalties for employers who fail to prominently post required posters. Employers who fail to display the required safety posters prominently can be subject to citations and fines.

In addition to the Unemployment Insurance (Notice to Worker) poster, the posters required by the State of Louisiana that are available include:

• Earned Income Credit (*New)
• Timely Payment of Wages (*New)
• Age Discrimination (*New)
• Out-Of-State Motor Vehicles
• Workers’ Compensation
• Employers Support/Guard & Reserves (National Guard)
• Unemployment Insurance
• Smoking Policy
• Sickle Cell Anemia Discrimination
• Child Labor
• Genetic Information/Discrimination

The Louisiana Complete Labor Law Poster also provides the labor posters mandated by the Federal government in Spanish as well as English, including the 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, and OSHA – Job Safety and Health Protection Posters.