Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Poster (2026)
Without this poster displayed in a visible location, the U.S. Department of Labor can issue citations and penalties — and you lose the legal defense that employees were informed of their rights. The Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Poster, also called the federal wage-and-hour notice or minimum wage poster, is required by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. This poster informs all employees of their rights under federal wage-and-hour law, including minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping rules. Key facts:
- 14 fields — ApronPrep auto-fills 12
- $0 government filing fee — you print and post the poster yourself
- No expiration date — one-time compliance requirement
Analyzed from Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Poster
86% from one compliance interview
Manual entry or document upload required
Why You Need a Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Poster
The Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Poster is a federal mandatory posting requirement enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD). Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), every covered employer — including restaurants, food trucks, and catering operations — must display the official WHD poster in a conspicuous location where employees can readily read it. The FLSA establishes federal minimums for minimum wage, overtime pay (1.5x regular rate for hours over 40 per week), child labor restrictions, and recordkeeping obligations. Related federal laws — including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Davis-Bacon Act, and the Service Contract Act — carry their own mandatory posting requirements that frequently overlap with FLSA compliance reviews. Failure to post is not a technicality; WHD investigators treat a missing or outdated poster as an indicator of broader wage-and-hour noncompliance and may expand the scope of any audit triggered by an employee complaint.
The consequences of non-compliance extend well beyond a citation letter. The Wage and Hour Division has authority to assess a range of penalties, and investigators routinely pursue back-wage recovery simultaneously with posting violations. Specific risks include:
- Back wages owed to affected employees for any underpaid minimum wage or overtime hours identified during an investigation — with no statute-of-limitations protection if the violation is deemed willful (up to 3 years of back pay exposure)
- Liquidated damages equal to 2× the amount of back wages owed, effectively doubling the employer's financial liability in willful or non-good-faith cases
- Civil money penalties up to $2,374 per violation for each child labor infraction — a critical risk for restaurants employing workers under 18 in roles involving cooking equipment or late-night hours
- Civil money penalties of $1,000 or more per willful FLSA violation, assessed on a per-employee, per-pay-period basis in egregious cases
- Cease-and-desist orders and injunctive relief, which can halt specific business operations — including the use of youth employees — while violations are remediated
- Insurance and lease complications: many commercial landlords and general liability insurers require proof of labor law compliance as a condition of lease renewal or coverage; a WHD citation can trigger a lease default clause or policy review
Legal code: Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Davis-Bacon Act, Service Contract Act
Recent update: As of 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor updated the official FLSA poster to reflect revised civil money penalty amounts — employers displaying older versions of the poster may be cited as non-compliant; download the current version directly from the WHD website at dol.gov/agencies/whd/posters to confirm you have the most recent edition. Not legal advice — verify current posting requirements with the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.
Who Needs a Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Poster?
| Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant (Full-Service) | Required | Any full-service restaurant with at least one employee is covered by the FLSA under 29 U.S.C. § 203, and federal law (29 C.F.R. § 516.4) requires the official Department of Labor FLSA poster to be displayed in a conspicuous place accessible to all employees. |
| Bar / Nightclub | Required | Bars and nightclubs that pay tipped employees a cash wage as low as $2.13/hour under the FLSA's tip credit provision (29 U.S.C. § 203(m)) are subject to all FLSA posting requirements, making the poster mandatory for any establishment with at least one W-2 employee. |
| Food Truck | Required | Food trucks with one or more employees are covered enterprises under the FLSA regardless of whether they operate from a fixed location; the DOL requires the poster to be posted where employees can readily observe it, which may mean inside the truck cab or at a base of operations. |
| Coffee Shop / Café | Required | Coffee shops and cafés employing at least one worker are subject to FLSA minimum wage and overtime requirements under 29 U.S.C. § 206–207, and must display the current DOL FLSA poster in a location visible to all staff. |
See which restaurant types need this requirement — and which don't.
See Full Requirements →Field-by-Field Guide (14 Fields)
12 of 14 auto-filledBusiness Has Employees
booleanIndicate whether your business currently employs any workers — including part-time, seasonal, and tipped employees — because FLSA poster requirements apply to any employer with at least one covered employee.
COMMON MISTAKE: Owners sometimes answer 'No' if they only have family members or contractors on payroll, but unpaid interns and certain family employees may still trigger FLSA coverage — confirm your worker classification before answering.
Total Number of Employees
numberEnter the total headcount of all current employees across all locations, including part-time and tipped workers, as this number determines the scope of your poster compliance obligations under the FLSA.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering only full-time employees and omitting part-time or seasonal staff understates your workforce and can create compliance gaps — the DOL counts all workers on payroll regardless of hours worked.
Number of Business Locations
numberEnter the total number of distinct physical locations where employees work, because each separate worksite must display its own FLSA poster in a conspicuous place accessible to all employees.
COMMON MISTAKE: Owners with multiple locations sometimes enter '1' because they manage everything from one office — each restaurant, commissary, or catering site that employees report to requires its own posted copy.
All Employees Speak English
booleanIndicate whether every employee at every location is English-proficient, because the DOL requires employers to post the FLSA notice in any language spoken as the primary language by a significant portion of the workforce.
COMMON MISTAKE: Answering 'Yes' when even a handful of employees primarily speak Spanish, Haitian Creole, or another language is a common compliance error — the DOL's threshold is not a majority, just a 'significant portion' of workers.
Other Languages Spoken by Workforce
textList every non-English language spoken as a primary language by any portion of your workforce, using full language names (e.g., 'Spanish, Haitian Creole, Mandarin') so you can identify which DOL translated poster versions to download.
COMMON MISTAKE: Listing only the most common non-English language and omitting others leaves employees without required notice — the DOL provides free translated FLSA posters for dozens of languages at dol.gov.
Has Remote Workers
booleanIndicate whether any employees perform work outside of your physical business locations, because the DOL's guidance on remote-worker poster compliance requires that electronic posting or direct digital delivery may substitute for physical posting for fully remote staff.
COMMON MISTAKE: Owners sometimes mark 'No' for delivery drivers or off-site catering staff who have no fixed workstation — the DOL considers any employee without a regular physical reporting location to be a remote worker for poster purposes.
Physical Workplace Addresses
textEnter the full street address of every physical location where employees work, formatted as Street, City, State, ZIP — this list determines exactly how many printed FLSA poster copies your business must display.
COMMON MISTAKE: Entering only the primary restaurant address and omitting a secondary prep kitchen or storage facility where employees regularly work means those locations are out of compliance with the FLSA's conspicuous posting requirement.
FLSA Poster Downloaded
booleanConfirm that you have downloaded the current official FLSA 'Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act' poster from the DOL Wage and Hour Division website (dol.gov/whd), as outdated versions do not satisfy the posting requirement.
COMMON MISTAKE: Using a poster downloaded more than a year ago risks displaying an outdated version — the DOL periodically revises the FLSA poster and only the current version satisfies the federal posting requirement; check the revision date printed on the poster's footer.
Translated Posters Downloaded
booleanIf you identified non-English languages in the 'Other Languages Spoken by Workforce' field, confirm that you have downloaded the corresponding DOL-translated FLSA poster for each language from dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters.
COMMON MISTAKE: Downloading only the English-language poster and assuming it covers multilingual workforces is one of the most cited FLSA posting violations — translated versions are free from the DOL and must be posted alongside the English version wherever non-English-speaking employees work.
Poster Printed
booleanConfirm that you have printed the FLSA poster at a size and resolution where all text is clearly legible — the DOL does not specify a minimum print size, but inspectors routinely cite posters printed below 8.5" × 11" or in illegible low-resolution as non-compliant.
COMMON MISTAKE: Printing on standard paper at a reduced scale to save ink can render the fine-print sections unreadable — print at 100% scale on at least 8.5" × 11" paper and verify every line of text is legible before posting.
ApronPrep auto-fills 12 of 14 fields from a single compliance interview — no re-typing, no guessing what the government expects.
Skip the Paperwork on Your Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Poster
ApronPrep auto-fills 12 of 14 fields from one compliance interview.
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Top 5 Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Poster Mistakes
1. Posting an Outdated Version of the FLSA Poster
Based on ApronPrep's analysis of Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Poster applications, the most frequent compliance failure is displaying a superseded version of the poster — particularly pre-2023 editions that omit updated minimum wage and child labor language. The Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division periodically revises the required poster, and an outdated version does not satisfy the posting requirement even if it was once compliant. Always download the current version directly from the DOL's Wage and Hour Division website (dol.gov/agencies/whd/resources/posters) before printing, and note the revision date printed in small text at the poster's footer.
2. Posting the Poster in a Location Employees Cannot Easily See
The FLSA requires the poster to be displayed in a 'conspicuous place where employees can readily observe it' — a back-office filing cabinet, a break room behind a locked door, or a digital-only posting for workers without regular computer access all fail this standard. A DOL investigator conducting an on-site audit will specifically check visibility and accessibility, and an improperly placed poster can result in the same civil money penalties as no poster at all (up to $1,000 per violation under repeated or willful findings). Place the poster at or near the primary employee entrance, time clock, or main break room at eye level — at minimum one copy per worksite location.
3. Failing to Post in All Required Languages
Restaurants with a significant portion of workers who are not fluent in English are required to post the FLSA notice in the language(s) their employees speak — the DOL provides free translated versions in over 20 languages on its website. Posting only the English-language version when, for example, your kitchen staff primarily speaks Spanish exposes you to a compliance finding during any WHD investigation. Download and display all applicable language versions simultaneously; there is no additional filing fee for translated posters as all versions are provided free of charge by the DOL.
Timeline: Varies
Determine Your Posting Obligation
Confirm whether you are required to post the FLSA poster. The Fair Labor Standards Act applies to employers with employees engaged in interstate commerce or employed in industries affecting interstate commerce — this includes most restaurants with 1 or more employee. Check the Department of Labor website to confirm your business falls under FLSA jurisdiction. You do not need to apply for posting rights; this is a mandatory compliance requirement.
Obtain the Official FLSA Poster
Download the official 'Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act' poster directly from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division website (dol.gov/agencies/whd), or request a printed copy by mail or email. The poster is provided free of charge by the DOL — no filing fees or application required. Ensure you download the most current version (the DOL updates language periodically to reflect regulatory changes).
Print or Prepare the Poster for Display
Print the FLSA poster on standard 8.5" × 11" or 11" × 14" paper, or request a pre-printed copy from the DOL. The poster must remain legible and unaltered — do not crop, modify, or obscure any text. If you are a large multi-location operator, you may need multiple copies (one per location). Keep a digital copy for your records in case the physical poster is damaged or lost.
Other Requirements You'll Need
ADA Compliance Self-Certification
federal
Alarm System Permit/Registration
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Application for Employer Identification Number
federal
Articles of Organization (LLC) or Articles of Incorporation (Corporation)
state
See all co-required forms and how they connect to your compliance dossier.
See All RequirementsThe FLSA Poster is available immediately for download and printing from the U.S. Department of Labor website — there is no processing timeline since it is not a permit or license that requires government approval. You can print and post it in your workplace the same day you access it. However, if you need to coordinate posting with other compliance requirements like E-Verify Enrollment or Application for Employer Identification Number, those may take additional time.
There is no government filing fee for the FLSA Poster — the Department of Labor provides it free of charge as a public document available for download on their website. Your only costs are for printing and materials (paper and ink), which are your direct business expenses, not government filing fees. Contact the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division to confirm you have the current version.
Yes, the FLSA Poster itself is not location-specific and can be used at any workplace location where you have employees. However, you must ensure that the poster is posted prominently where employees can easily see it — typically in break rooms, near time clocks, or at the main employee entrance. If you are opening a new location, you will need to post a copy there as well, and you should verify all other location-specific requirements like City Business License/Registration at that new site.
The FLSA Poster does not require renewal — it remains valid as long as the content and regulations have not changed. However, the Department of Labor periodically updates the poster to reflect changes in wage and hour laws or contact information; you should check the Department of Labor website at least annually to verify you are displaying the current version. When updates are issued, you should replace your printed poster promptly to remain compliant.
During a Wage and Hour Division workplace inspection, investigators verify that the FLSA Poster is posted in a conspicuous location where all employees can easily read it. Failure to post the poster, or posting an outdated version, can result in civil penalties of up to $489 per violation as of 2024, per the Department of Labor penalty schedule. If violations are found, you will be instructed to post the current poster and may be subject to additional enforcement action if wage and hour violations are discovered during the same inspection.
About This Data
This guide is generated from ApronPrep's compliance dossier system, which uses 53 parallel AI authority experts to discover requirements, then downloads actual forms and generates field-level intelligence for each one.
Our data is verified against official government sources and updated when regulatory changes are detected. If you find an error, please report it — accuracy is our core commitment.
Sources
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Davis-Bacon Act, Service Contract Act
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