Family and Medical Leave Act 2009 Poster

The updates to the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) and the provisions for the new military family leave will take effect on January 16, 2009. In order to remain in compliance with the requirements of the FMLA, all “covered employers” must keep on display a poster prepared by the Department of Labor. “Covered employers” include private employers who have fifty (50) or more employees, as well as state, local and federal employers, and public and private elementary and secondary schools. The poster summarizes the major provisions of the FMLA and explains the process for filing a complaint. The poster must be displayed in a conspicuous place where all employees and applicants for employment may read it and it must be displayed at all of the employer’s locations, even if no employees at that location are eligible for protection under the FMLA. Although there is no particular size requirement required by the FMLA, all text on the poster must be large enough to be easily read.

The Department of Labor has issued a new version of the poster for 2009, incorporating the new amendments to the FMLA. A copy of the new poster is attached hereto for your reference. The 2009 poster may be found at the following web address on the Department of Labor’s website:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/finalrule/FMLAPoster.pdf

The poster may be printed for free off the DOL’s website. Alternatively, a laminated sheet containing all six (6) mandatory federal posters, including the 2009 version of the FMLA poster is available from the following website for $17.95:

http://www.pbcompliance.com/Compliance.asp?TLM=2

The FMLA poster is available in English and Spanish. Please note that if the employer’s workforce is comprised of a significant portion of workers who are not literate in English, the employer is responsible for providing the notice in a language in which the employees are literate.

You should begin to display the 2009 version of the FMLA poster, along with the other mandatory federal and state posters, as soon as possible. All mandatory federal and state posters are required to be predominantly displayed. Please be aware that the failure to do so may result in substantial fines.

If you would like to discuss how these changes affect you or your business, or for a fuller description of the new provisions to the Family and Medical Leave Act please contact:

Seth P. Briskin, Esq.
Scott M. Lewis, Esq.

Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis
28601 Chagrin Blvd., Ste. 500
Cleveland, Ohio 44122
(216) 831-0042