On October 20, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released a new workplace poster titled: “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal.” According to the EEOC, covered employers* must post this poster within the workplace going forward. Those who do not comply may be subject to fines for noncompliance. The law currently requires covered employers to post a notice describing the Federal laws prohibiting job discrimination and retaliation. This new poster should immediately replace the previous EEOC poster (“EEO is the Law”) within your workplace.
The new poster shall be placed in a conspicuous location in the workplace where notices to applicants and employees are customarily posted. The poster must also be accessible to applicants and employees with disabilities that limit mobility and/or limit the ability to see or read. In addition to physically posting, covered employers are encouraged to post the notice digitally on their websites in a conspicuous location and in a screen-readable format. If the employer does not have a physical location or has telework or remote employees who do not visit the employer’s workplace on a regular basis, the poster must be posted online.
The new poster shares information about discrimination based on:
- Race,
- Color,
- Religion,
- National origin,
- Sex (including pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity),
- Age (40 and older),
- Equal pay,
- Disability,
- Genetic information (including family medical history or genetic tests or services), and includes
- Retaliation for filing a charge, reasonably opposing discrimination, or participating in a discrimination lawsuit, investigation, or proceeding.
The poster also explains that employees or applicants can file a charge if they believe that they have experienced such discrimination or retaliation and includes a QR code for applicants or employees to link directly to instructions for how to file a charge of workplace discrimination with the EEOC.
Some notable changes from the previous EEOC poster (“EEO is the Law”), last updated in 2009, include that the new poster now notes that harassment is a prohibited form of discrimination and that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Additional forms of the poster are available here.
*Covered employers include private employers with 15 or more employees and all state and local government employers, educational institutions, unions, and staffing agencies.
