In light of the ongoing workplace disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, some employers have raised questions about how to meet their posting obligations under the various laws enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) with respect to employees who now work remotely. For example, because laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) require “continuous” posting to inform employees of their statutory rights, can an employer post the notices electronically to reach all employees in lieu of physical posting at an establishment?
A few weeks ago, DOL’s Wage and Hour Division issued a so-called Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) to enforcement staff providing guidance on those limited circumstances under which electronic posting might serve as a permissible alternative to physical posting. Bottom line, for the FMLA and the FLSA, unless all employees are working remotely, an employer is not relieved from establishment-based physical posting. Where some employees work at the establishment and others work remotely, DOL encourages (but does not mandate) both types of posting.
WHD Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2020-7 was issued on December 23, 2020, and sent to all WHD Regional Administrators and District Directors.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.