Must employers post federal workplace notices in languages other than English?


Issue:

Your organization employs a significant number of workers who do not speak English fluently. Do you have to post the federal workplace posters in languages other than English?

Answer:    

With a couple of exceptions, noted below, US Department of Labor (DOL) regulations do not require posting of notices in Spanish or other languages. However, the DOL encourages employers to post the posters that are available in other languages, if the organization’s employees speak other languages.

  • Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Poster. Where an 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. The FMLA poster is available in Spanish at http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/fmlaspan.htm.
  • Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act (MSPA) Poster. This poster “shall be provided … as necessary and reasonable in Spanish or other language common to migrant agricultural workers who are not fluent or literate in English.” See http://www.dol.gov/compliance/topics/posters.htm for copies in Spanish and Haitian.

Source:  US Department of Labor; http://www.dol.gov/compliance/topics/posters.htm.

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