labor lawAdivision of labor law center

It is especially important that employers update their 2008 Vermont labor law posters. Each year brings a number of changes to the state labor laws, and this year certainly had more than its share.

The updated list of 2008 Vermont labor law posters is:

• Unemployment Insurance
• Minimum Wage
• Clean Indoor Air Quality Act
• Employers’ Reinstatement Liability
• Workers’ Compensation
• OSHA - Health and Safety Protection
• Sexual Harassment
• Parental and Family Leave Act
• Child Labor

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.

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.

The minimum wage for tipped employees varies broadly from one state to the next. So do the overtime laws. These are just some of the items that are covered on each state’s respective labor law posters. Here are a few outstanding examples.

Minimum wage laws for tipped workers like servers often simply follow the federal rate of $2.13 an hour. The idea is that employers need not pay the usual minimum wage because the workers are making up the difference in tips. This is the “tip credit” for employers.

Kentucky, Indiana, Nebraska, and other states follow the federal rate.

Some states offer just a little more than the federal rate:

• North Carolina, $2.43
• Wisconsin, $2.33
• Massachusetts, $2.63
• Michigan, $2.65

The minimum wage for tipped employees in Kansas is only $1.59.

At the opposite extreme, some states offer little or no tip credit. In these states, employees are paid the same minimum wage, or nearly the same minimum wage, as other workers. They include:

• Washington, none ($8.07 per hour wage starting January 1)
• Colorado, wage for tipped workers $8.07 per hour in 2008
• Hawaii, 25-cent tip credit, wage $7 per hour compared to usual $7.25

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.

Recently released statistics on accidents in the workplace from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics are sobering. The year 2005 is the last year with complete statistics. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is in charge of monitoring those millions of yearly injuries in Vermont and nationwide.

The statistics on Vermont worker safety are sobering. More than a half-million employees suffered sprains, tears, or strains in 2005. The numbers also show 270,890 experienced painful back injuries. And 255,750 workers fell while on the job.

But Vermont statistics are just one part of the chilling picture. Nationwide, 4,214,200 work-related accidents were reported in 2005. They resulted in 1,234,700 lost workdays. Most shocking of all are the figures for workplace fatalities, which show that 5,702 workers died on the job that year.

The figures themselves are dramatic. But they only reflect figures for the private sector. They do not include public, high risk jobs like law enforcement, firefighting, and paramedical service, or employees in the non-profit sector.

As the statistics show, falls are a common cause of accidents. Slips, trips, and falls generally are thought of as more of an annoyance than a danger. But they rank second highest among the causes of workplace deaths. For example, 732 people died after workplace falls in 2005. Driving, the first most serious cause of deaths on the job, took 1,258 lives.

According to OSHA, workers should be reminded of how important safety measures are, and should be taught the right safety precautions to take. It has developed something to make that job easier. It’s called the OSHA Workplace Safety Pack, and includes three posters and The Workplace Ergonomics. The information is presented in a readily understandable manner.

According to OSHA, education is key to a workplace safety plan. The program should remind employees of the need for safety and show them how to apply the right safety measures.  

In Vermont there are some things that we do not really think about. One of these items would be the Vermont State Mandatory Poster. This is a simple tool that is designed to help and assist employers in passing on information in regards to state labor laws as required by the labor board. This tool contains vital information, but that information is only good if it is current and up to date for the employer to read. That is also a requirement of the labor board; that the Vermont State Mandatory Poster be posted and current. That means that if a law changes in regards to labor in Vermont that you will need to update the old poster to reflect the changes. If you do not have a current and posted poster then you will be in violation of labor laws according to the labor board. This could lead to fines as well as other punishments from the state.

In Vermont you are required to have certain items that are required to be on your Vermont State Mandatory Poster. These items are; Unemployment Insurance, Minimum Wage, Clean Indoor Air Quality Act, Employer’s Reinstatement Liability, Worker’s Compensation, OSHA, Child Labor, Sexual Harassment and Parental and Family Leave Act. These are all items that are designed to explain the benefits and rights of the employees in the state. These laws help to benefit both the employees and the employers however. These laws that are contained on your Vermont State Mandatory Poster must be current and visible in order for it to be completely accurate.

Remember that not being in compliance with the labor board is not a good thing. This can lead to many things that could happen including fines and even further research into what other violations that have occurred. So do the right thing and keep the yourself out of trouble.

Because of the importance of keeping current on Vermont laws, this is an excellent time for the employer and employees to review the Vermont Posters at the place of business or worksite, checking for any changes that might have been made. Because laws can and do change, having current Vermont Posters is a great tool for helping the employer stay within state and federal guidelines for posting notices about labor laws and employee rights.

I hope this brief summary of information gathered about this important subject will help answer some of the questions you may have about Vermont Posters and the state and federal requirements for posting information where it is easily seen and read by employees. Just a reminder that the employer has the full responsibility of making sure the information on Vermont Posters at the worksite is up-to-date. In addition, the employer must make sure all posters are placed in a common area where workers usually gather or meet, such as the break room or lunchroom.

On the list of state requirements for Vermont Posters are Unemployment Insurance, Minimum Wage, Clean Indoor Air Quality Act, Employers’ Reinstatement Liability, Workers’ Compensation, OSHA – Health and Safety Protection, Sexual Harassment, Parental and Family Leave Act, and Child Labor. Some of the Vermont Posters required by state law are similar to those on the federal requirement list, but laws can be different in minor ways so it would be important for the employer to have the most current state and federal Vermont Posters on display.

For example, Vermont requires posting notice of clean indoor air, a law that specifically refers to amendments to the 1995 law that went into effect on May 1, 2006. This would be very important to employees and must be clearly visible when displayed at the place of business. In addition, having the most current Vermont Posters would help the employer be prepared if the posters were the focus of a labor inspection.

Now, looking at things from the federal side, the required Vermont Posters are 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. On this list, the USERRA notice is relatively new, having only been passed in 2005.

This particular part of the Vermont law deals with the rights of those who want to serve in the military but do not make it a career. In other words, these workers would need to be aware of this and having current Vermont Posters on display at the work site or place of business is a good way to provide this information to employees.

I try to research the employment labor laws often to look for changes, and report those changes to you here in this blog. In researching the Vermont (VT) Employment Labor Poster requirements, I noticed that there was a change in March 2006. The change was on the Unemployment Insurance poster. It now gives telephone numbers that employees can call if they become unemployed, or even if the amount of their work hours are reduced. When employees call these numbers, they are told how they can go about filing for unemployment benefits.

There are several other Vermont (VT) Employment Labor Posters that must be posted in every business in the state. These are: Minimum Wage Law, Clean Indoor Air Quality Act, Employers’ Reinstatement Liability, Workers’ Compensation, OSHA - Health and Safety Protection, Sexual Harassment, Parental and Family Leave Act, and the Child Labor Law.

There are also Federal labor law posters that are required to be placed in view of all employees. They are: Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law, OSHA - Job Safety and Health Protection, Employee Polygraph Protection Act, Federal Minimum Wage, Family and Medical Leave Act, and the new USERRA - Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act.

The Vermont Department of Labor, as well as the Federal Department of Labor both work to ensure that there are regulations and safety measures in place in every business. That’s why these laws are in place, and why the posters are mandated to be on display.

Are your posters up to date? The employment labor posters have to be changed every time there is a change to the laws. That is totally the responsibility of the employer. Are your posters visible to everyone who works at your business? Are any of them missing or torn? These are all questions you, or someone who works for you, will need to look into on a regular basis.