Required Posters for New Businesses

By Mercedes DeFeo

If you have opened your own business, this will be familiar to you, and if you are thinking of starting your own business, save this article!

As soon as the Secretary of State approves your business formation filing, you will start getting junk mail, and lots of it. Every new business that is formed is a matter of public record, and companies will pull the new business’s mailing address from these public records to solicit the sale of their services and products.

Some of this junk mail will appear to be official, including notices from fake government offices requesting payment for things you, as a new business owner, are not required to pay for. Obviously do not ignore official looking documents, but be vigilant! Perform a simple Google search, or give our office a quick call if you are unsure about something you receive related to your business.

The topic of today’s article is “Required Posters for New Businesses”. There are companies that will send new business owners official-looking documents citing federal and state laws that require new business owners to post specific posters at their business. The issue is these companies sell said posters for $80 or more!

The posters’ purpose are to notify employees of their rights under state and federal wage and safety laws. The solicitations from these companies attempting to sell you posters also cite fines businesses can receive (often in bold print!) for not posting these posters at their business’ office. These potential fines are intended to scare you into purchasing their products, as some of the statutes and fines cited are not accurate. At the very bottom of the solicitation, in a small, non-bolded print the company hopes you won’t see, is a disclaimer from the company stating they are not affiliated with the government.

Two main points: First, your business may not be required to post ANY posters! Even if the business IS required to post posters, it may not be required to post ALL the posters advertised by the company soliciting your business. An example is a newly formed business that does not have any employees, or family-owned businesses, where all employees are related. Businesses of this type are not required to post any posters.

Second (and most important), ALL posters referenced by these companies, scaring you into purchasing their products, can be printed for FREE on the federal and state Department of Labors’ websites. The federal Department of Labor has a step-by-step guide linked here. You start by entering information about your business and employees, and the Department of Labor will tell you what posters you need and how to download them for free!