The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin providing guidance on when legally required notices may be posted electronically.
The WHD observed that as more employees work remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, employers have questioned their ability to use emails or Intranet postings to provide notice to employees of their statutory rights. WHD advised:
- Continuous Posting
- When a statute, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and Family and Medical Leave Act, require employers to “post and keep posted” or require the posting of a notice “at all times,” employers will not meet their notice requirements by a direct mailing or providing a single notice to employees.
- An electronic posting is an acceptable substitute for a continuous posting requirement if
- All of the employer’s employees exclusively work remotely,
- All employees customarily receive information from the employer by electronic means, and
- All employees always have readily available access to the electronic posting.
- If an employer has employees onsite and other employees working remotely, the employer must have a hard-copy posting and may supplement it with an electronic posting.
- Individual Notices
- When a statute permits delivery of notices to individual employees, the notice may be met by email delivery (or another similar method of electronic delivery) only if the employee customarily receives information from the employer electronically.
If an employee meets a worksite posting by electronic means, the notice must be effective as a hard-copy posting. The employer must inform the employees of where and how to access the notice electronically. A copy of the Field Assistance may be accessed by clicking here.
