On March 25, 2020, we announced that the Wage and Hour Division of the DOL had issued the poster/notice required to be posted under the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act.” We noted that covered private sector employers were reminded that they are required to post the notice. In issuing the poster, the DOL stated that an employer could satisfy the posting requirement by emailing or direct mailing the notice to employees, or posting the required notice on an employee information internal or external website. We concluded with the observation, “Print it and post it today.”

I apologize. Without any fanfare, the DOL changed the language of the poster. The location of the poster was not changed. You can get the “revised” poster here. (The location didn’t change!)

The date on the original and the revised poster is “3/20.” The way to determine whether you have the revised poster is to check the third bullet point under the “Paid Leave Entitlements” heading. You have the most recent poster (at least as of this writing) if it ends with, “and $12,000 total.” 

I do not perceive the change as substantive, but rather a clarification of what might have been confusing language. But there is a lesson for everyone: be wary of relying on yesterday’s materials, as they might have been changed with no notice that it was being done.