DOL issues guidance on posting requirements in remote work setting

With more and more employees working remotely because of the COVID-19 outbreak, you may fairly be wondering whether electronic messages or postings on the company’s intranet system will satisfy government requirements to provide notice to employees about their rights. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently answered the question the way most lawyers do: It depends.

How we got here

A year into the pandemic, most of us have become fairly adjusted to what has been labeled “the new normal.” In the employment context, the biggest change has been the transition to telework in many workplace settings. Since March 2020, employers have considered various personnel issues surrounding remote work. The most pressing issue, of course, was how to make it feasible.

The year 2021 is when we may see things gradually return to normal, but many predict remote work is here to stay. As a result, many of you are considering how to meet your legal obligations in the new virtual setting, which could last long after the pandemic.

In late 2020, the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued a bulletin on an important topic: notice requirements. As you likely know, several employment laws require you to provide notice to employees about certain rights, usually in the form of posters or other postings in a public area. For example, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) require employers to display a general notice advising employees of their rights under the two laws.

Here’s what the WHD guidance had to say about remote work notice requirements under several laws.