Nov 20, 2015
Poster requirements can be daunting for ag employers

Employers must often keep up with a variety of required government posters at their orchards, farms or other places of business, which can be daunting at times.
What Poster?

Private poster services can be helpful by selling a grower a large poster that contains either all possible state required labor posters or all of the Federal required labor posters in one large format. Some growers like this service because it relieves them of the responsibility of keeping up with poster revisions.

Unfortunately, buying from a poster service each year can be expensive especially when you consider that these posters do not change all that often. To add insult to injury there are a few poster services that might use dubious sales tactics like appearing to be a government agency and use drop boxes in that state’s capitol to give them a state capitol address. We’ve have even been told that sales staff might threaten a grower that they will send out an “inspector” if they do not buy their poster.

So how can a grower keep up with the all the various posters? It’s easier and cheaper than you think. For those of you with internet access you can simply check the Pennsylvania Labor and Industry website once or twice a year to see what posters apply to you and what you need at your operation. You can download and print any of these for free or you can call the number on that website (717-783-8794) and they will send you that poster for free.

If you want to do the same thing with the Federal Department of Labor posters you can go directly to the Federal Department of Labor website. If you have questions regarding the Federal posters call 1-866-487-2365. They will not send out posters but you could download them. To check on the latest revision date just click on the link for that poster and the latest revision date will be there.

The typical labor law poster that you buy to cover all labor law posters will probably not include the EPA Worker Protection Standard poster but Pennsylvania growers can get those for free by contacting Jim Harvey, Penn State WPS Specialist by email or calling 814-863-8214. Posters will also be available at the WPS booth at the winter orchard extension meetings or at booth 133 in the main exhibition hall at the Mid Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable conference at Hershey. We also plan on having copies of other labor required posters there.

Jim Harvey, Penn State Extension


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