labor lawAdivision of labor law center

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

The 2008 Tennessee 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.

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.

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 Tennessee labor law posters that every employer must display are:

• OSHA - Health and Safety Protection 
• Unemployment Insurance 
• Child Labor 
• Workers’ Compensation Notice 
• Discrimination Notice

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

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

A number of states across the country enacted an increase to their state minimum wage during 2007. Maine, North Dakota, South Dakota and New Hampshire are among them.

Minimum wage wasn’t the only law that changed during 2007. Two states established new no-smoking bans.

Illinois’s new law banned smoking in almost every work environment, including casinos, restaurants and bars. In Ohio, a tough new ban on smoking at work was also enacted. Businesses were then required to post new no-smoking signs at all entrances.

All of the changes that occurred during 2007, and those slated to occur in 2008 will require employers to update their labor law posters. If the posters are not updated, the employer could be fined.

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, Montana 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.

Another increase will occur on July 24, 2008, raising the federal minimum wage from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour. Again, the states that tie their minimum wage to the federal rate will bump their state minimum wages, too.

Both state and federal law require that every employer prominently display the posters in an area where they can be 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.

The Tennessee FMLA was designed to cover a number of serious situations and conditions.

What are some of those conditions?

• The serious medical for a member of your immediate family.
• Your own serious illness.
• The birth of a child.
• Adoption, or bringing a foster child into the home.

Employers and employees each have obligations to fulfill under the law. Employers must notify a worker immediately in written form about the leave status and telling him or her what must be done to insure the position is still there upon return to the workplace. Employees must do their share by following through on the instructions from the employer.

The Tennessee FMLA law is there to allow us to shift our concentration from workplace to hearth in such circumstances. They are the kinds of circumstances we think about at this time of year, as Mother’s Day passes and Father’s Day is not too far away.

There is also the all-important issue of medical coverage through payroll deductions. Because the employee is on unpaid leave, the deduction must come from somewhere. The employer will pay the premiums and they will become an advance against future pay. When the employee returns to work, the deductions made during leave time will be taken out of those paychecks. It is an important matter with legal implications, and both workers and employers are both urged to sign a written document.

There are steps you and your employer must take in the process. The employer must notify you about your status, and that notification must be in writing. You, in turn, must follow the instructions the employer outlines in order to maintain your job status in good standing.

Tennessee is one of those states that abide by the federal FMLA program. Some states have chosen to create their own, somewhat different, versions of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Workplaces should display the Tennessee FMLA poster outlining the program’s basics.

In Tennessee we have a lot of pride in everything we do. We also take care of and do what is best for those that work in our state. That is why the labor board requires a Tennessee State Mandatory Poster to be posted at each worksite. These tools are designed not to hinder but to help employers keep their employees informed and aware. It is something that helps you as an employer to keep yourself protected and out of trouble with the state board. It is something that we are all required to have and to have it posted where it can be seen by all. Not only must you have a Tennessee State Mandatory Poster, you must have one that is current and updated in order for it to be legitimate. These little things are required by the labor board and if they are not current and posted you will not be in compliance which could lead to fines and even worse.

There are some laws that you are required to have on your Tennessee State Mandatory Poster. These laws are OSHA, Unemployment Insurance, Child Labor, Worker’s Compensation Notice and the Discrimination Notice. These laws are all beneficial to the employee. It is very important that all of the most current updates of these laws be posted so as to keep your work place in compliance. These are very serious laws and things contained in them will be beneficial to both you and your employees to keep informed on.

Remember the Tennessee State Mandatory Posters are not optional. These are very important tools to both you and your employees so keep it updated and keep it posted. If you do not it could lead to things that are not necessarily good for you. It could lead to fines as well as other items occurring against you and your company.

This could be a good time for both the employer and the employee to check the Tennessee Posters on display at the workplace to see if any changes need to be made or if laws have changed that might require updating the Tennessee Posters. Remember, it is the employer’s responsibility to have current posters displayed so I hope the following information will be of help with some of the questions you may have about labor laws, employee rights, and Tennessee Posters.

Tennessee Posters requirements include Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Health and Safety Protection, Unemployment Insurance, Child Labor, Workers’ Compensation Notice and Discrimination Notice. As an example of the information that employees can get from having the current Tennessee Posters, the state has its own OSHA laws that govern the safety and health of workers on the job. This refers to the employees’ right to have a workplace that is safe and free from unhealthy conditions.

Of course, this could be very important to employees and an excellent way to pass this information on to employees would be by using current Tennessee Posters. In addition, the state has a separate Discrimination Notice requirement that goes along with the federal requirements. This notice about a worker’s right to have job and not be discriminated against because of things such as gender, race, or religion is also important and should be available to employees.

On the federal side, federal posting requirements include Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), Job Safety and Health Protection, Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law, Family and Medical Leave Act, Federal Minimum Wage and Employee Polygraph Protection Act. The USERRA notice is fairly, new and refers to the law that encourages non-career military service while balancing this with the employer’s need to have a reliable and experienced workforce.

Under this law, the worker who goes into the armed forces, reserves or National Guard but does not necessarily want to make a career of it, can return to claim the civilian job they had before they went into the service. Information about this important right can be passed on to employees by using current Tennessee Posters.

Do not forget that the employer has the responsibility to post the most up-to-date Tennessee Posters on display at the worksite, making sure they are placed in an area where workers normally gather, such as the break room or lunchroom. Having the current Tennessee Posters on display will ensure that the employer stays within the state and federal guidelines for Tennessee Posters.

Yes, we’re back to our alphabetical list of important states when it comes to workers and employment law posters. I’ve thrown a dart at my alphabetical board, and it’s landed at T. That means the Tennessee And Federal Labor Law Poster is next up for discussion. Just kidding. I didn’t throw a dart.

I want to cover the Tennessee And Federal Labor Law Poster again because we may have Tennessee employers out there who weren’t lucky enough to happen to catch my last blog on the Tennessee And Federal Labor Law Poster. Or there could be Tennessee employers who are so good about following the laws that they want a refresher on the Tennessee And Federal Labor Law Poster.

Either way, let’s dig in. As we’ve seen in many other states that we’ve looked at, the posters for the state of Tennessee also include six federal postings, which are mandatory in all Tennessee And Federal Labor Law Poster on top of the state posting (which will discuss in a second).

Those six federal postings include the USERRA postings, which covers employees who have to serve active duty in the armed forces; the Equal Employment Opportunity posting, which prohibits discrimination of all sorts at the workplace; the minimum wage posting for the federal government, which covers wage rules from the Fair Labor Standards Act; the polygraph protection posting, which prohibits employers from doing lie detector tests on their employees in certain circumstances; the OSHA posting, which covers the federal rules on work site safety and employee health; and last but not least, the Family and Medical Leave Act, for when employees need time off because of health or personal issues.

The Tennessee And Federal Labor Law Poster also contain five state postings, including the state OSHA posting, the child labor posting, the workers’ compensation notice, unemployment insurance posting, and the discrimination notice.