NYS Labor Law Posting Requirements: State, Federal & NYC

New York labor law posting requirements combine three layers: a set of state notices from the Department of Labor and other agencies, three insurance-related notices supplied by your carrier, and the federal posters that apply to nearly every employer. Since a December 2022 amendment to Labor Law Section 201, employers must also make digital versions of every posted document available to employees. New York City employers add one more poster on top. Missing any single notice can trigger penalties that range from $100 to $16,550 per violation, and some fines run per employee per day.

State Notices Every New York Employer Must Post

The core set of New York State postings applies to essentially every employer, with a few tied to workforce size or industry.

Minimum Wage Poster (LS 207), which lists the current hourly rates and overtime rules. For 2026, the minimum wage is $17.00 per hour in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester, and $16.00 for the rest of the state.¹²
Human Rights Law Poster from the Division of Human Rights, covering discrimination protections based on age, race, sex, disability, and other protected characteristics.³
Anti-Retaliation Notice (LS 740) under Labor Law Section 740, posted in well-lit places employees regularly visit.⁴
Article 23-A of the Correction Law, which prohibits discrimination based on criminal convictions. Required since February 2009.⁵
Veterans’ Benefits and Services Poster, required for public and private employers with more than 50 full-time employees, effective January 1, 2023.⁶
Sexual Harassment Prevention Poster. The NYS Department of Labor publishes a model version.
HERO Act Airborne Infectious Disease Plan, posted at each worksite in a visible, prominent location and also provided to new employees at hire.

Construction employers must post a Fair Play Act notice about worker classification at each job site. Employers on public works projects must display the current prevailing rate schedule where workers can see it.⁵

Insurance Notices From Your Carrier

Three notices come from the employer’s insurance carrier rather than a state agency, and each has to be filled in with the actual carrier and policy details before it goes on the wall. A blank form doesn’t satisfy the requirement.

Workers’ Compensation Notice (Form C-105). Workers’ Compensation Law Section 51 requires this notice in English and Spanish, showing the carrier’s name and policy details.⁷
Disability Benefits Notice (Form DB-120), notifying employees of their right to benefits for non-work-related injuries or illnesses. Obtained from the disability carrier or a licensed New York insurance agent.⁸
Paid Family Leave Notice of Compliance (Form PFL-120), posted conspicuously and explaining eligibility for paid leave to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill family member, or handle a military family need.⁹

Forms C-105 and DB-120 are not available for download on the Workers’ Compensation Board’s site; employers must request them from the carrier.¹⁰ Paid Family Leave information must also appear in any written materials given to employees, including handbooks. If a company has no handbook, it still has to provide written guidance about PFL benefits and how to file a request.¹¹

The Section 195 Wage Notice Is Not a Poster

The Wage Theft Prevention Act (Labor Law Section 195) requires a separate written notice handed to each new employee at hire. It’s an individual document with a signed acknowledgment, not something you put on the wall.¹²

The notice must state the employee’s rate of pay and how it’s calculated (hourly, salary, commission, piece rate), any tip, meal, or lodging allowances counted toward minimum wage, the regular payday, the employer’s legal name and any “doing business as” names, and the employer’s address and phone number.¹³ A new notice is required whenever any of that information changes.

The penalty structure here is the sharpest in the entire framework. The Department of Labor can assess $50 per day per worker when a proper notice isn’t given, and an individual employee can sue and recover up to $5,000.¹⁴ For a workforce of 20, that’s $1,000 per day in Department of Labor penalties alone. Because the employer bears the burden of proving the notice was given, missing paperwork can also weaken the defense in a later wage dispute.

Federal Posters That Apply on Top of State Requirements

Federal notices apply regardless of the state requirements, and each is enforced by the issuing agency.

EEOC “Know Your Rights” Poster for every employer with 15 or more employees, covering federal anti-discrimination protections including race, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, and genetic information. The failure-to-post penalty is currently $680. The poster must be accessible to employees with disabilities, including in screen-reader-compatible formats when needed.¹⁵
FLSA Minimum Wage Poster, posted conspicuously by employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The federal minimum wage remains $7.25 per hour.¹⁶
OSHA Workplace Safety Poster. As of February 2026, OSHA requires the updated “OSHA Cares…That You Go Home Safe” poster, replacing the older “Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law” version. Posting violations can reach $16,550 per violation.¹⁷
FMLA Poster for employers with 50 or more employees. Willful refusal to post is capped at $100 per offense.¹⁸
Employee Polygraph Protection Act Notice, posted in a prominent location for employees and applicants.¹⁹

Federal contractors and subcontractors also have to post a notice about organizing and bargaining rights under Executive Order 13496, both physically and electronically wherever contract work is performed. Noncompliance can lead to contract suspension, cancellation, or debarment from future federal contracts.²⁰

The Extra NYC Poster

Under Local Law 161 of 2023, New York City employers must display the multilingual “Know Your Rights at Work” poster where employees can easily see it. A copy must go to every new hire on or before their first day, and the poster must also appear on any internal digital platform used to communicate with staff.²¹ This is separate from the state Division of Human Rights poster. Employers in the five boroughs need both.

How and Where the Posters Have to Appear

Labor Law Section 201 requires notices to be kept in a conspicuous place on each floor of the premises. A three-floor operation needs a full set on every floor. Break rooms, kitchens, hallways near time clocks, and employee entrances are typical locations. The notices have to stay unobstructed and legible; a fading poster or one covered by a schedule doesn’t meet the requirement.²²

Digital Distribution Since December 2022

Section 201 now requires employers to make digital versions of all posted documents available through the company website or by email. Employers also have to separately notify employees that the required posted documents are available electronically. This runs alongside physical posting, not in place of it.²²

The statute explicitly reaches beyond state notices: “All other documents required to be physically posted at a worksite pursuant to state or federal law or regulation shall also be made electronically available.” Federal posters have to be provided digitally too.

Remote and Hybrid Workforces

For fully remote employees who never come into a physical office, digital distribution is the primary way to meet posting obligations. Federal DOL guidance treats electronic posting as a substitute for a physical poster only when all employees work remotely, all customarily receive information electronically, and all have ready access to the electronic posting at all times without needing special permission.²³ For hybrid workforces with any on-site staff, electronic posting supplements the physical requirement rather than replacing it. Dropping the documents into a shared drive nobody knows about is specifically flagged as insufficient; employees have to be told where and how to find them.

Language Requirements

The rules split between wall postings and the individual hire notice.

For the Section 195 wage notice at hire, the requirement is specific: employers must provide it in English and in whatever language the employee identifies as their primary language, as long as the Department of Labor has published a template in that language. The employee signs an acknowledgment in both languages.¹²

For wall postings under Section 201, notices must be “in such language as the commissioner may require.” The Commissioner of Labor sets the language requirements, and employers use the versions the Department publishes.²² Many DOL posters are available in multiple languages, and posting versions that match the workforce is sensible practice.

Federal law does not require postings in languages other than English, but the EEOC and other agencies publish translations in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and other languages.¹⁵

Where to Get Each Poster

Most state labor posters (minimum wage, retaliation, and others): free download from the Department of Labor at dol.ny.gov/posting-requirements.⁵
Human Rights Law poster: Division of Human Rights, in English and Spanish.³
Workers’ Compensation (C-105), Disability Benefits (DB-120), and Paid Family Leave (PFL-120): from the insurance carrier or a licensed New York insurance agent, not from any government website.¹⁰
Federal posters: free from each issuing agency. The DOL’s elaws Poster Advisor at dol.gov/general/topics/posters helps identify which federal notices apply.¹⁸
Section 195 wage notice templates: dol.ny.gov/notice-pay-rate.¹³

Consolidated all-in-one posters sold by private compliance vendors can be convenient, but no state or federal agency officially endorses them. Anyone using one should verify it includes every required notice in the most current version. An outdated consolidated poster still exposes the employer to full penalties.

Penalties for Missing a Notice

Under New York Labor Law, civil penalties for posting violations can reach $1,000 for a first offense and $2,000 for a second. The Wage Theft Prevention Act adds $50 per day per employee for a missing Section 195 hire notice, plus a private right of action of up to $5,000 per employee.¹⁴

Federal penalties vary by agency. OSHA posting violations can reach $16,550 per violation, the largest single posting penalty most employers face.¹⁷ The EEOC’s failure-to-post penalty is $680, adjusted annually for inflation.¹⁵ FMLA posting violations are capped at $100 per offense.¹⁸

The fines aren’t the whole picture. In wage or discrimination proceedings, a missing notice can undercut the employer’s defense, especially on the Section 195 hire notice where proof of delivery is the employer’s burden.

1
New York State Department of Labor. Minimum Wage Poster
2
NY.Gov. New York State’s Minimum Wage
3
Division of Human Rights. Publications
4
New York State Department of Labor. Notice of Employee Rights, Protections, and Obligations LS740
5
New York State Department of Labor. Posting Requirements
6
New York State Department of Labor. Veteran Benefits and Services
7
New York State Senate. New York Consolidated Laws, Workers Compensation Law – WKC 51 – Posting of Notice Regarding Compensation
8
New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Disability Benefits Forms Insurers and Self-Insured Employers
9
Paid Family Leave. Notice of Compliance
10
New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. Workers Compensation Board All Common Forms
11
Paid Family Leave. Employer Responsibilities and Resources
12
New York State Senate. New York Labor Law 195 – Notice and Record-Keeping Requirements
13
New York State Department of Labor. Notice of Pay Rate
14
New York State Department of Labor. Wage Theft Prevention Act Frequently Asked Questions
15
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal Poster
16
eCFR. 29 CFR 516.4 – Posting of Notices
17
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA Penalties
18
U.S. Department of Labor. Workplace Posters
19
eCFR. 29 CFR 801.6 – Notice of Protection
20
U.S. Department of Labor. Executive Order 13496: Notification of Employee Rights Under Federal Labor Laws
21
NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Workplace Laws – DCWP
22
New York State Senate. New York Labor Law 201 – Laws and Orders To Be Posted
23
U.S. Department of Labor. Electronic Posting for Purposes of the FLSA, FMLA, Section 14(c) of the FLSA, EPPA, and SCA