EEOC Increases Penalty for Failure to Post “EEO is the Law” Poster

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces several civil rights statutes that require an employer to post a notice describing the federal laws prohibiting discrimination such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Genetic Information NonDiscrimination Act (GINA). Recently, the maximum penalty for violating anti-discrimination posting requirements has been increased to $576 per offense.

The “EEO Is the Law” poster, prepared by the EEOC, summarizes these laws and explains how an employee or applicant can file a complaint with the EEOC if they believe they have been the victim of discrimination. The poster is available in English, Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish. Employers should place the poster in a conspicuous location in the workplace where notices to applicants and employees are customarily posted. In addition to posting physically, employers with electronic information systems should also post the electronic notice on their systems. Keep in mind that, aside from full remote work situations, electronic posting supplements physical posting but does not itself fulfill the employer’s basic obligation to physically post the required information in its workplaces. In some situations (e.g., for employees who telework and do not visit the employer’s workplace on a regular basis), electronic posting may be required in addition to physical posting in order to ensure that all employees have access to the poster.

In addition to penalties for the failure to post, in the event of litigation, additional time to sue may be granted to employees whose employers failed to comply with posting requirements. These documents can be downloaded at no cost at https://www.eeoc.gov/ employers/eeo-law-poster.

Kimbrell J. Hines is an attorney with Williams Parker and focuses on labor and employment law.

She can be contacted at [email protected] or (941) 552-5547.