Federal and State Legal Requirements
Federal and state laws require employers to prominently display posters where employees and job applicants can easily read them and, in several scenarios, a digital requirement has become mandatory.
Digital posters generally are required for fully remote workforces and are a necessary supplement for hybrid/in-person teams, ensuring all employees (remote, hybrid, in-office) receive mandatory notices, with specific rules for accessibility and delivery, but physical posting is still required for physical workplaces unless all employees are remote.
Digital notices must be as effective as hard copies, available continuously, and not just a single email. Employees must be clearly informed where and how to access these digital notices. Federal guidelines, which California often aligns with, permit digital-only if all employees are fully remote and have reliable electronic access, while physical posters remain mandatory for locations with in-person staff.
Key Rules and Action Steps:
Key Rules for Digital Postings in California:
- For Remote/Hybrid Workers: You must provide electronic access to required federal and California state posters (like FLSA, FMLA, OSHA, anti-discrimination, minimum wage, etc.) for employees who don’t regularly visit a physical worksite (typically defined as less than 3-4 times a month).
- Supplement, Not Substitute (Generally): If you have any employees working on-site, you must still display physical posters at the workplace; electronic postings are an addition, not a replacement.
- Fully Remote Workforce Exception: A digital-only approach might work if all your employees are fully remote and habitually receive company info electronically, but you need a system to ensure access and track acknowledgments.
- Proof of Compliance: You need a system to show employees received and accessed these notices, such as requiring email confirmations or digital acknowledgments, to prove you met your obligations.
Action Steps:
- Identify Your Workforce: Determine who is fully remote, hybrid, or fully on-site.
- Provide Physical (if needed): Post all required notices at your physical California office(s).
- Provide Digital (for all remote/hybrid): Use your company intranet, email, or a dedicated platform to distribute digital versions of federal and California labor law posters to your remote workforce.
- Track & Document: Get acknowledgments from remote employees for digital distribution.
Posters must be provided in other languages if more than 10% of the workforce speaks that language.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission mandates:
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission mandates:
All employers post:
- Equal employment opportunity is the law: This is available in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
U.S. Department of Labor mandates:
The U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR mandate:
All employers post:
- Minimum wage(federal Fair Labor Standards Act): This is available in Spanish and Chinese
- Notice: Employee Polygraph Protection Act: This is available in Spanish
- Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law Workplace Poster: If you are in a state with an OSHA-approved state plan, there may be a state version of the OSHA poster. For California employers, the required poster is listed under the State of California Industrial Relations mandates “Safety and Health Protection on the Job”.
State Plan Version of Job Safety and Health Poster
Alaska (English)
California (English | Español) (Required for the State of California Department of Industrial Relations)
Connecticut (English)
Hawaii (English)
Illinois (English)
Iowa (English)
Kentucky (English)
Maryland (Private sector: English | Español) (Public sector: English)
Massachusetts (English)
Michigan (English)
Nevada (English)
New Jersey (English)
New Mexico [Call (505) 476-8700 to request a hard copy].
New York (English)
North Carolina (English | Español)
Puerto Rico (Español)
South Carolina (English)
Tennessee (English)
Vermont (English)
Virgin Islands (English)
Washington (English | Español)
Wyoming (English)
- Your Rights Under USERRA: Employers are required to provide to persons entitled to the rights and benefits under USERRA, a notice of the rights, benefits and obligations of such persons and such employers under USERRA. Employers may provide the notice, “Your Rights Under USERRA,” by posting it where employee notices are customarily placed. However, employers are free to provide the notice to employees in other ways that will minimize costs while ensuring that the full text of the notice is provided (e.g., by handing or mailing out the notice, or distributing the notice via electronic mail).
15 or more employees, Congress and Federal agencies, and to employment agencies and labor organizations
- Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal: California employers’ version is the “California Law Prohibits Workplace Discrimination and Harassment” and is required to be posted by all employers. It does not replace federal, state, or local laws that are more protective of workers (used here to mean job applicants and employees) affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. More than 30 statesand cities have laws that require employers to provide accommodations for pregnant workers.
50 or more employees and all public agencies post:
- Family and Medical Leave Act(Federal FMLA): This is available in Spanish
Special circumstances post:
- Farm Labor Contractors: Human Trafficking: Farm Labor Contractors post a public notice using specific language regarding Human Trafficking at their workplaces in a conspicuous place which is visible to the public and workers. The California Department of Justice provides specific notices per county.
- Construction Projects Subsidized or Funded from Public Funds: Davis-Bacon Employee Rights poster (WH-1321): Construction projects funded in whole or in part by federal grants, loans, or other assistanceare subject to the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) and require the posting of the WH-1321 poster, provided the contract exceeds the $2,000 threshold.
- Service Contracts Act and Public Contracts Act: Employee Rights on Government contracts: The requirement applies to federal contractors whose contracts involve producing supplies or equipment over $10,000 or providing services over $2,500, with penalties for non-compliance. It must be displayed continuously throughout the entire performance period of a covered government contract.
The DOL offers an interactive tool to assist with determination of the posters a business will need.
State of California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) mandates:
The State of California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) mandates:
All employers post:
- Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) wage order: The wage order is numbered by industry or occupation group and the employer should use the alphabetical index of businesses and occupations list to make that determination.
- Minimum wage: California State minimum wage order. Some cities and counties have higher minimum wages than the state’s rate. Here is a list of City and County minimum wages in California maintained by UC Berkeley. Check city for their requirements.
- Paid sick leave: This notice is available in Spanish, Korean, Tagalog, Chinese Simplified, Vietnamese
- Payday notice: A payday notice must specify the regular paydays and the time and place of payment.
- California Workplace – Know Your Rights: The notice will be updated annually. The notice currently is available in English and Spanish, and soon will be available in additional languages.
- Safety and health protection on the job (Cal/OSHA): This is available in Spanish
- Emergency phone numbers: Effective March 30, 2026, California’s SB 294 (Workplace Know Your Rights Act) requires employers to collect separate, private emergency contact information for every employee.
Completing the form includes:
- The “Ambulance”, “Fire-Rescue”, and “Police” phone number for most urban and suburban areas will be 911.
- After “Hospital”, enter the name, full address, and emergency room phone number of the nearest medical facility equipped to handle trauma.
- After “Physician”, enter the name and phone number of the company’s designated Occupational Health Physician or a local clinic where workers’ compensation cases are sent.
- After “Alternate”, Enter an alternative contact, such as a Secondary Occupational Clinic or an internal Emergency Coordinator who is authorized to make medical decisions for the company.
- And for “CAL/OSHA”, enter the phone number for the Cal/OSHA District Office that has jurisdiction over specific workplace location.
- General Hotline: 1-833-579-0927 (live representative).
- Regional Numbers:
- Region 1 (S.F./North Coast): (415) 557-5000.
- Region 2 (Sacramento/Central Valley): (916) 263-2808.
- Region 3 (Santa Ana/Southern CA): (714) 558-4451.
- Region 4 (Los Angeles/Ventura): (626) 471-9122.
- Notice of workers’ compensation carrier and coverage: This notice must state the name of the employer’s current workers’ compensation insurance carrier, or the fact that the employer is self-insured.
- Whistleblower protections: Lettering must be larger than size 14 type. This notice is available in Spanish
- No smoking signage: Signage must be posted designating where smoking is prohibited/permitted in a place of employment.
11 or more employees in previous year post:
- Log and summary of occupational injuries and illnesses: Employers with 11 or more employees in the previous year. Record injuries on Form 300, record details on form 301, and annual summary on form 300A.
Special circumstances post:
- Notice of Inspection by Immigration Agencies: The employer is required to provide notice to employees of any inspection of I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms or other employment records by an immigration agency by posting a notice within 72 hours of receiving the notification of inspection.
- Access to medical and exposure records: All employers using hazardous or toxic substances. This notice is available in Spanish
- Fast Food Minimum Wage: For more information, visit Fast Food Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions. Fast food employers must post this Minimum Wage Order Supplement for Fast Food Restaurant Employees.
- Health Care Workers Minimum Wage: For more information on the minimum wage increase and which workers are covered, visit the Health Care Worker Minimum Wage FAQs. For more information on the clinic waiver program, visit the Health Care Minimum Wage Clinic Waiver Program FAQsand access the clinic waiver application here.
- Operating Rules for Industrial Trucks: Employers operating forklifts and other types of industrial trucks or tow tractors. This notice is available in Spanish
- Farm labor contractor statement of pay rates: Farm labor contractors licensed by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). The notice must be displayed prominently where work is to be performed and, on all vehicles, used by the licensee for transportation of employees. Notice must be at least 12 inches high and 10 inches wide.
- Barbering and Cosmetology Licensees (California): Licensed barbers and cosmetologists. Also available in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese.
- Prevailing wage rate determinations: Public works awarding bodies and contractors. The body awarding any contract for public work or otherwise undertaking any public work shall cause a copy of the prevailing wage determination for each craft, classification or type of worker needed to execute the contract to be posted at each job site.
State of California Civil Rights Department (CRD) mandates:
The State of California Civil Rights Department (CRD) mandates:
All employers post:
- California law prohibits workplace discrimination and harassment
- Transgender Rights in the Workplace(mandatory January 1, 2018): This is available in Spanish
5 to 49 employees post:
- Pregnancy disability leave: Employers of five to 49 employees.
50 or more employees and all public agencies post:
- Family care and medical leave (CFRA leave) and pregnancy disability leave: All employers with 50 or more employees and all public agencies.
State of California Employment Development Department mandates:
The State of California Employment Development Department mandates
All employers post:
- Notice to employees: This is available in Spanish, Vietnamese, and Chinese
California Secretary of State mandates:
The California Secretary of State mandates:
All employer 10 days before statewide election:
- Time Off To Vote: Notice to employees: time off to vote: This should be posted not less than 10 days before every statewide election, shall be kept posted conspicuously at the place of work, if practicable, or elsewhere where it can be seen as employees come or go to their place of work. This is available in Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese