Overview. Detailed discussion is
provided below on selected, broadly applicable federal employment
notice requirements (e.g., written notices, forms, or pamphlets) that
must be provided to employees and/or new hires.
Please note that additional notice requirements and best
practices may apply, particularly in industrial workplaces, healthcare
and educational facilities, and other workplaces with unique or specific
needs.
Coverage. All employers subject
to the FLSA.
Required. All covered employers
must provide one of two written notices to employees. There is one
model notice for employers that do not offer health insurance to employees
and another model notice for employers that offer a health plan to
some or all employees. The notice must be provided to new hires within
14 days of the employees’ start date.
For employers that offer health insurance, the model
notice provides information on the ACA Health Insurance Marketplace
to help employees evaluate their health insurance coverage options.
The notice is issued by the DOL at
https://www.dol.gov.
Coverage. All employers subject
to the FLSA.
Required. All covered employers
must provide one of two written notices to employees. There is one
model notice for employers that do not offer health insurance to employees
and another model notice for employers that offer a health plan to
some or all employees. The notice must be provided to new hires within
14 days of the employees’ start date.
For employers that do not offer health insurance, the
model notice provides information on the ACA Health Insurance Marketplace
to help employees evaluate their health insurance coverage options.
The notice is issued by the DOL at
https://www.dol.gov.
Coverage. Employers with 20 or more
employees that provide group health plans.
Required. Under the
Consolidated
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), covered employers
are responsible for ensuring that terminated employees and other qualified
beneficiaries receive proper COBRA notice of their right to continue
health insurance at their own expense. Both voluntary and involuntary
terminations are considered qualifying events under COBRA, triggering
the continuation coverage, except terminations that are the result
of an employee’s gross misconduct. Employers must notify plan administrators
of the termination within 30 days of the event, and the plan administrators
must then provide written notice to qualified beneficiaries within
14 days after receipt of a notice of a qualifying event from the employer.
In cases in which the employer is the plan administrator, this notice
is due within 44 days of the event or loss of coverage (whichever
applies). The DOL provides a COBRA Model Election Notice in
English and
Spanish. Coverage. Employers that use a tip
credit.
Requirement. FLSA regulations require
employers to inform an employee before implementing a tip credit.
Unless an employer gives proper notice, the employer will not be eligible
to use a tip credit. According to the final rule, the notice has to
include the following explanation:
• The amount of the cash wage the employer pays the employee,
which cannot be less than $2.13 per hour;
• The additional amount the employer is using as a credit
against tips received, which cannot exceed the difference between
the minimum wage ($7.25) and the actual cash wage paid by the employer
to the employee;
• That the additional amount claimed by the employer on
account of tips as the tip credit may not exceed the value of the
tips actually received by the employee;
• That the tip credit cannot be applied to any tipped employee
unless the employee has been informed of the tip credit provisions
of the FLSA; and
• That all tips received by the tipped employee must be
retained by the employee, except for valid pooling of tips.
Employers must also notify employees of any required
tip pool contribution amount.
Caution: The regulations do not
require these notices to be in writing. However, it is advisable that
employers provide employees with written notice and retain a record
of the notice in case there is a dispute with a tipped employee.
Coverage. Employers with 50 or more
employees.
Required. In addition to posting
the FMLA notice (WH-1420) in the workplace, employers must also provide
this general notice to each employee by including it in employee handbooks
or other written guidance to employees concerning employee benefits
or leave rights, if such written materials exist, or by distributing
a copy of the general notice to each new employee upon hiring. (Note:
The general notice is the same notice that must be posted in the workplace.)
The general notice is issued by the DOL at
https://www.dol.gov.
Coverage. All employers.
Required. The official form that
should be filled out for every person hired is Form I-9. This form
is required for each new employee to document the verification of
employees' eligibility to work in the United States. The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) requires every
employer, before hiring an applicant, to examine documents that establish
the individual’s identity and eligibility to work. The employee must
bring in original documents to prove their identity and employment
eligibility. Form I-9 is divided into three sections: employees fill
out the first section, the employer fills out the second section,
and the third section is for reverification of employment eligibility
or rehires.
Section 1 of Form I-9 must be completed by every newly
hired employee on or before the first day of employment, but not before
the job offer has been accepted. Section 2 of Form I-9 must be completed
and signed by the employer within 3 business days of the date employment
begins.
Form I-9 is issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) and may be obtained at
https://www.uscis.gov/i-9. Instructions for completing Form I-9 are available
here.Coverage. All employers.
Required. Form W-4 is required for
each new employee. Employers use Form W-4 to determine the amount
of federal income tax to withhold from an employee’s wages. The form
is issued by the Internal Revenue Service at
https://www.irs.gov. Coverage. Employers with 100 or
more employees.
Required. On November 5, 2021, the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published its
ETS mandating that covered employers must require all employees to
be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or, alternatively, to wear a
face covering and undergo weekly testing (86 Fed. Reg. 61,402;
Nov. 5, 2021). Under the ETS, covered employers are required to develop
and issue a written mandatory vaccination policy and provide this
information and other notices to employees. On January 13, 2022, the
U.S. Supreme Court struck down OSHA’s ETS that would have obligated
covered employers to require employees to be vaccinated or submit
to weekly testing, as well as to provide certain notices to employees.
Following the Court’s ruling, OSHA withdrew the vaccination and testing
ETS, effective January 26, 2022. Any state and local government vaccination
and testing requirements are not affected by OSHA’s withdrawal of
the ETS.
Coverage. Employers that employ
100 or more full-time workers and employers that employ 100 or more
workers who work at least a combined total of 4,000 hours per week
(excluding overtime hours).
Required. If employees are being
terminated as part of a layoff, reduction in force, or plant closing,
a covered employer must give 60 days' notice of any plant closing
and/or mass layoff under the federal Worker Adjustment and
Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act). At least 60 days
before a closing or layoff, an employer must provide written notice
to (1) the union representing the affected employees or to the employees
themselves if there is no union, (2) the state dislocated-worker unit,
and (3) the chief elected official of the local government unit in
which the closing or layoff is to occur. The notice to employees who
do not have a representative must contain the name and address of
the plant site where the closing or layoff will occur; the name and
phone number of a company representative to contact for further information;
a statement about whether the separation is expected to be permanent
or temporary and, if the entire plant is to be closed, a statement
to that effect; the expected date when separations will begin and
the anticipated date when the individual employees will be separated;
and an indication whether or not bumping rights exist.
A guidance document detailing required and recommended
state and federal forms that should be provided to employees
upon hire is available.