2008 Washington Labor Law Poster

December 25th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

With all of the changes taking place in the world of labor law, it’s vital that employers update their Washington labor law posters now.

There are a number of changes to the 2008 Washington labor law posters. Every employer is required by law to display these posters in a prominent position, where they can be seen by employees and applicants alike. Popular choices are the break room, near the time clock or in a back hallway.

Employers who fail to display posters face penalties and hefty fines.

It is especially important that employers display the updated 2008 Washington labor law posters, since the state minimum wage is due to increase on January 1, 2008. On that day, the state rate will increase by 12 cents from $7.95 to $8.07 per hour. This follows a 70-cent increase in the federal minimum wage, from $5.15 to $5.85 per hour, in July 2007.

For 2008, the Washington labor law posters are:

  • Unemployment Insurance 
  • Employee Rights for Non Agricultural Workers 
  • Employee Rights for Agricultural Workers 
  • Washington FMLA 
  • Injury on the Job Notice 
  • Discrimination Notice 
  • OSHA – Safety and Health Protection 
  • Minimum Wage

These posters must be displayed by every employer in the state.

In addition, federal law mandates a number of posters having to do with labor laws on the national level. These include:

  • 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

The labor laws covered by labor law posters vary widely from state to state within the country. Overtime laws and the minimum wage rates for tipped employees are two areas of labor law that vary widely from one state to another.

Some states have no overtime laws of their own, and are covered by the federal law. Others have passed laws mirroring or extending the federal laws.

Federal law offers a premium of 1.5 times the normal hourly rate for any time over 40 hours. States without their own laws include Delaware, Arizona, Idaho, Georgia, and Florida. Workers not normally covered by federal overtime law are not entitled to overtime in these states.

Nebraska mirrors the federal law but extends coverage to all businesses with 4 or more employees. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Michigan also mirror federal law – 1.5 times normal after 40 hours. But Kansas’ overtime does not kick in until 46 hours, and Minnesota’s not until 48.

Kentucky provides overtime after 40 hours or on the 7th consecutive workday regardless of number of hours. In Colorado, it kicks in after 12 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Only restaurant and hotel workers may collect overtime on the 7th consecutive day of work in Connecticut.

California has the most generous plan. Employees get overtime after working 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Anyone working 7 consecutive days gets overtime on the 7th day. Double-time is paid after an employee works 12 hours in a day, or after 8 hours on the 7th consecutive work day.

The federal rate for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour. Kentucky, Nebraska, and Indiana follow that rate. Kansas is only $1.59. Massachusetts is $2.63 and Michigan is $2.65. Wisconsin is at $2.33 and North Carolina at $2.43. Connecticut hotel and restaurant workers get overtime on the 7th consecutive workday.

Tipped workers get the normal minimum wage in Washington State – $8.07 per hour on January 1. In Hawaii, tipped workers get $7 an hour compared to the normal rate of $7.25. Colorado’s rate for tipped workers is going to $4.02 in 2008.

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Washington USERRA Poster

June 5th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

The Washington USERRA regulations, sanctioned by the US Department of Labor, provide job security for reservists and member of the National Guard called away from civilian jobs because of deployment for active duty.  USERRA is the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.

The Washington USERRA poster should be displayed in every workplace. The USERRA was enacted as a means of job protection for reservists serving on active military duty.  The act also provides clarification of the laws pertaining to reservists in the workplace and enforcement of job protection for these workers.

Recent upgrades have been made to the Washington USERRA regulations and these upgrades are described in a poster that is required by law to be displayed on every jobsite in the state.  So important is this issue that even employers who have no reservists on their payrolls must display the poster in a prominent location.

One very important issue covered under Washington USERRA regulations is pension plan coverage.  A recent change to USERRA regulations clearly and explicitly states that all pension plans belonging to reservists on active duty are protected during deployment.

Another important USERRA issue is the reservist’s return to work after deployment.  The returning soldier is entitled to return to his or her job held before active duty and job status, position, rate of pay, etc., must be the same as it was when the soldier was deployed.

New regulations describe when a soldier must return to work. In particular, the regulations govern how much time is allowed to elapse between the soldier’s return from active duty, and reporting to his or her job.  The time a returning soldier must report back to work is based upon the length of active deployment.  USERRA regulations allow for job protection even if a soldier is on active duty as long as five years.

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Washington State Law Posters

September 18th, 2006 Posted by Mark

We’re on the one of the last states on our list—Washington. And it’s key that we understand one thing when we consider the Washington State Law Posters. These labor law compliance posters have their mandatory components in them, sure. We’ve covered these before for the Washington State Law Posters, and we’ll do so again real quick here.

But when it comes to the Washington State Law Posters and other state labor law posters, there are also other complimentary posters that aren’t necessarily required but could make nice additions to your Washington State Law Posters collection.

First, let’s look at the mandatory posters. In the Washington State Law Posters, there are eight mandatory state postings. These include: the minimum wage notice, the unemployment insurance notice, the injury on the job notice, the postings on employee rights for non agricultural and agricultural workers, the OSHA notice for the state, the discrimination notice, and the Washington FMLA posting.

There are also six federal postings in the Washington FMLA posting, which are the same main six federal postings that we’ve seen in other state compliance poster collections. The federal postings, real quick, include the Family and Medical Leave posting, the USERRA posting for military terms of duty for employees, the federal minimum wage, the OSHA posting, the polygraph protection act posting, and the Equal Employment Opportunity posting going over discrimination prohibitions.

That total 14 postings that must be in the Washington FMLA posting, but Washington state also offers other posters to its employers. These include a wealth of safety posters that can help improve safety performance at a work site.

These postings in the Washington FMLA posting could include posters for hard hat safety, for eye protection wear safety, special postings for construction sites and locations where high explosives will be used, to name a few.

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Required Labor Law Postings for Washington (WA) Employers

September 17th, 2006 Posted by Lindsay

I feel like a broken record sometimes when I talk on and on about employment labor posters and the importance of keeping them current and updated. However, it is of the utmost importance that you remain within the bounds of the law by keeping them current. You must keep your labor law posters posted in a place that all your employees have access to them. You also need to be sure the posters are not dirty or torn, as well as that they have not been removed or covered over by some other notice.

I recently checked on the Washington (WA) Employment Labor Posters, and although it was only a brief run through I did not see any glaring changes to the posters. I did see, and you should take note, that on the employee rights posters there have been some changes in wording with regard to child labor.

At any rate, please be sure if you live in Washington State that your posters are compliant. The Washington (WA) Employment Labor Posters that you must display include: Unemployment Insurance, Employee Rights for Non Agricultural Workers, Employee Rights for Agricultural Workers, Washington FMLA, Injury on the Job Notice, Discrimination Notice, OSHA – Safety and Health Protection, and the Minimum Wage Law.

There are also some 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 USERRA – Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act.

Placing these posters on your wall not only keeps you compliant with the Department of Labor requirements. I believe that it also sends your employees a message that you are serious about following safety and health regulations, and about following rules in general.

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Required Labor Law Compliance Posters for Washington Businesses

September 14th, 2006 Posted by Derrick

Today I’m going to tell you a little bit about the labor law posters for Washington. These posters explain the rights and protections that employees are granted under the law. The required labor law posters for Washington differ slightly from some of the other states. These posters must be displayed where all employees have a very good chance of seeing them.

It’s necessary for workers to know about the laws that protect them. That is why the law requires that the labor law posters for Washington are displayed where employees are known to gather. The posters should be well-lit and easily accessible. The labor law posters for Washington need to be kept clean. Therefore, it’s probably a good idea to cover the posters in glass or clear plastic.

The required state postings for the labor law posters for Washington are: Notice to Employees – If A Job Injury Occurs, Notice to Employees – Self-Insured Businesses, Job Safety and Health Protection, Your Rights as a Non-Agricultural Worker, Your Rights as an Agricultural Worker and 2006 Washington Minimum Wage (recommended not required).

The employer needs to make sure the labor law posters for Washington are updated whenever it’s necessary. The poster for Your Rights as a Non-Agricultural Worker needed to be updated in November of 2005.

The employer must make sure that the correct labor law posters for Washington are displayed in an appropriate place. If the business is particularly large, the posters may need to be displayed in more than one place in the workplace. This will ensure that all employees are able to see the labor law posters for Washington.

All employers need to make sure they know the laws that deal with the displaying of the labor law posters for Washington. Failure to follow the laws may result in the employer being cited and/or fined.

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