The day a store hires its first employee, its back wall picks up legal duties. Some federal notices apply to a covered store with a single worker on the payroll. Others switch on only at 15, 20 or 50 employees.
This article walks through the federal posting rules for a private employer as they read on the Legal Information Institute’s copy of the Code of Federal Regulations and the U.S. Code on 21 October 2026. It sorts the notices by headcount, covers where to hang them and what the rules say about electronic posting. The Breakroom Wall Checklist turns the list into one page per store.
It covers federal notices only. Your state and city very likely have posting rules of their own, and those are outside the scope of this article. Nothing here is legal advice, and a question about your own store belongs with the agency named on the poster or with an employment attorney.
Two questions decide what goes on the wall
Each federal posting rule is attached to a particular law and written for employers that law covers. Two questions decide the wall: which laws cover your store, and, for laws with a size test, how many employees you have, counted the way the law counts them.
Four notices in this article carry no employee-count threshold of their own: minimum wage, job safety and health, polygraph protection, and service members’ rights. Three come with a count: equal employment opportunity at 15 employees, age discrimination at 20, and family and medical leave at 50. Those are seven rules but six posters, because the EEOC’s one poster covers both the 15-employee rule and the 20-employee rule.
The notices that do not wait for a headcount
Federal minimum wage notice
The minimum wage notice comes from the Fair Labor Standards Act. Under 29 CFR 516.4, “Every employer employing any employees subject to the Act’s minimum wage provisions shall post and keep posted a notice explaining the Act, as prescribed by the Wage and Hour Division, in conspicuous places in every establishment where such employees are employed so as to permit them to observe readily a copy.”
The trigger is whether the employees are “subject to the Act’s minimum wage provisions.” The Act itself, at 29 U.S.C. 206, reaches each employee “who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce,” and also each employee who “is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce.” For a retail business, the enterprise definition in 29 U.S.C. 203 includes a sales test: an enterprise “whose annual gross volume of sales made or business done is not less than $500,000 (exclusive of excise taxes at the retail level that are separately stated).”
That figure is one route to coverage, not the only one, because the Act also covers employees individually through the work they do. A store under $500,000 in sales should not assume its staff fall outside the Act.
Job Safety and Health notice
The workplace safety notice has the broadest wording of all. 29 CFR 1903.2 says: “Each employer shall post and keep posted a notice or notices, to be furnished by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, informing employees of the protections and obligations provided for in the Act, and that for assistance and information, including copies of the Act and of specific safety and health standards, employees should contact the employer or the nearest office of the Department of Labor.”
The same section adds two rules that matter in a small store with a crowded wall. One is about care: “Each employer shall take steps to insure that such notices are not altered, defaced, or covered by other material.” The other is about size, for stores that print their own copy: “Reproductions or facsimiles of such Federal or State posters shall constitute compliance with the posting requirements of section 8(c)(1) of the Act where such reproductions or facsimiles are at least 8 1/2 inches by 14 inches, and the printing size is at least 10 pt.”
Some states run their own approved safety program, and the regulation says a state’s approved poster, “when posted by employers covered by the State plan, shall constitute compliance with the posting requirements of section 8(c)(1) of the Act.” Your state agency can tell you which version to hang.
Employee Polygraph Protection Act notice
Stores that never use lie detectors still post this one. 29 CFR 801.6 states: “Every employer subject to EPPA shall post and keep posted on its premises a notice explaining the Act, as prescribed by the Secretary.” It adds that the notice “must be posted in a prominent and conspicuous place in every establishment of the employer where it can readily be observed by employees and applicants for employment.”
The reach of the Act is set out in 29 CFR 801.1, which says it “prohibits most private employers (Federal, State, and local government employers are exempted from the Act) from using any lie detector tests either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment.” The sections reviewed set no minimum number of employees. The notice is aimed at applicants as well as employees, so it belongs where a job seeker would see it.
USERRA notice for service members
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act protects employees who serve in the military. Its notice rule is in the statute, at 38 U.S.C. 4334: “Each employer shall provide to persons entitled to rights and benefits under this chapter a notice of the rights, benefits, and obligations of such persons and such employers under this chapter.” The same section explains how to do it: “The requirement for the provision of notice under this section may be met by the posting of the notice where employers customarily place notices for employees.”
The coverage rule leaves no room for a small-store exception. 20 CFR 1002.34 says: “USERRA applies to all public and private employers in the United States, regardless of size. For example, an employer with only one employee is covered for purposes of the Act.”
At 15 employees: the equal employment opportunity notice
The first headcount line is 15. The posting rule is 29 CFR 1601.30, which applies to every employer “that has an obligation under title VII, the ADA, GINA, or the PWFA.” Such an employer “shall post and keep posted in conspicuous places upon its premises notices in an accessible format, to be prepared or approved by the Commission, describing the applicable provisions of title VII, the ADA, GINA, and the PWFA.” The same section says where, and it names job seekers: “Such notice must be posted in prominent and accessible places where notices to employees, applicants and members are customarily maintained.”
The 15-employee figure comes from the laws themselves. Title VII, at 42 U.S.C. 2000e, defines an employer as “a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.” The Americans with Disabilities Act, at 42 U.S.C. 12111, uses the same test (“15 or more employees”), and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, at 42 U.S.C. 2000gg, adopts the Title VII definition.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission supplies one poster for this, Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal. The EEOC’s poster page says the poster “summarizes these laws and explains how employees or applicants can file a complaint if they believe that they have experienced discrimination.” The page also flags the edition: “Employers should ensure posted materials have the correct materials which are dated in the bottom right corner.” An old copy by the time clock may not be current.
At 20 employees: the age discrimination notice
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act has its own posting rule. 29 CFR 1627.10 requires every employer “which has an obligation under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967” to “post and keep posted in conspicuous places upon its premises the notice pertaining to the applicability of the Act prescribed by the Commission or its authorized representative.” It names job seekers too: “Such a notice must be posted in prominent and accessible places where it can readily be observed by employees, applicants for employment and union members.”
The threshold is in 29 U.S.C. 630, which defines an employer as “a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has twenty or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.”
In practice, the EEOC’s poster page describes the notice employers must post as covering the federal laws prohibiting job discrimination based on, among other things, “age (40 and older).” A store at 20 employees or more should confirm with the EEOC that the edition on its wall is current, rather than looking for a separate sheet.
At 50 employees: the family and medical leave notice
The highest line is 50. Under 29 CFR 825.104, a covered employer is one “who employs 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year.”
The posting rule is 29 CFR 825.300: “Every employer covered by the FMLA is required to post and keep posted on its premises, in conspicuous places where employees are employed, a notice explaining the Act’s provisions and providing information concerning the procedures for filing complaints of violations of the Act with the Wage and Hour Division.” It adds a visibility standard: “The poster and the text must be large enough to be easily read and contain fully legible text.”
Two details catch employers out. First, the duty applies even when nobody can use the leave yet: “Covered employers must post this general notice even if no employees are eligible for FMLA leave.” Second, posting is not the whole job if any employee is eligible. In that case the employer “shall also provide this general notice to each employee by including the notice 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.”
The FMLA rule is the only one here with an explicit language requirement: where many workers “are not literate in English, the employer shall provide the general notice in a language in which the employees are literate.”
How the count works
All three headcount rules count employees “for each working day” in each of 20 or more weeks “in the current or preceding calendar year.” Two points follow.
- It looks back. A store that met the count for 20 weeks last year is not released from it this year because staff numbers fell in January.
- Several stores may count together. The FMLA regulation says “a corporation is a single employer rather than its separate establishments or divisions.” How your own entities are counted under each law is a question for an attorney.
Whether a particular person, such as a part-time cashier or a family member who helps out, counts as an employee is a legal question this article does not answer. When the count is close, a sensible store policy is to post the higher-threshold notice anyway.
Where to hang them: one set per store, where staff will see it
The rules use slightly different words but point to the same place. The safety notice, for example, goes “in each establishment in a conspicuous place or places where notices to employees are customarily posted.”
The safety regulation defines the word that matters for an owner with more than one location: “Establishment means a single physical location where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed.” Its own list of examples includes “store.” A second store is a second establishment, and it needs its own set of notices on its own wall.
In a typical independent store, the breakroom or the wall beside the time clock is where notices to employees are customarily posted. Four of the rules name applicants as well as employees: the polygraph rule, the FMLA rule, the EEOC rule and the age discrimination rule. A store that takes applications at the counter should make sure job seekers can see those notices.
What the rules say about electronic posting
A screen in the back office is not a blanket substitute for paper. The sources treat electronic posting notice by notice.
- FMLA. The regulation accepts it, with a condition: “Electronic posting is sufficient to meet this posting requirement as long as it otherwise meets the requirements of this section.”
- Equal employment opportunity. The EEOC’s page treats electronic posting mainly as an addition: “In most cases, electronic posting supplements the physical posting requirement.” It describes the exceptions as “employers without a physical location or for employees who telework or work remotely and do not visit the employer’s workplace on a regular basis.” A store with a physical location and on-site staff does not fit those exceptions.
- Minimum wage, safety, polygraph and USERRA. The sections reviewed speak of posting in establishments and on premises and do not address electronic posting, so this article does not treat it as sufficient for them.
The simple store policy is to keep printed copies on the wall at every location and treat any electronic copy as an extra.
Where the posters come from
The federal notices are free. The Department of Labor’s FirstStep Poster Advisor says: “DOL provides the posters at no cost to employers.” The same page sets its own limit: “The Poster Advisor only provides information about Federal DOL poster requirements.”
The EEOC’s notice comes from the EEOC’s own page, which offers printable versions in English and several other languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Haitian Creole. A store does not need to buy a combination poster to comply with the federal rules. If it uses one, it should check that each notice matches the current federal edition and that the safety notice meets the size rule in 29 CFR 1903.2.
The Breakroom Wall Checklist: a one-page tool by headcount
Fill this in once for each store, keep it next to the posters, and run it again whenever your staff count changes or you open another location.
Step 1. Write down your count. Note whether your employee count reached 15, 20 or 50 on each working day for 20 or more weeks, either this calendar year or last. Use the highest line you reached in either year.
Step 2. Read your row and every row with a smaller headcount. The notices add up as the count rises.
| Headcount | Federal notices to post | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 or more employees | Federal minimum wage notice (if employees are subject to the minimum wage provisions); Job Safety and Health notice (or your state’s approved version); Employee Polygraph Protection Act notice; USERRA notice | 29 CFR 516.4; 29 CFR 1903.2; 29 CFR 801.6; 38 U.S.C. 4334 |
| 15 or more | Add the EEOC’s Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal poster, current edition | 29 CFR 1601.30 |
| 20 or more | Add the age discrimination notice (confirm the EEOC poster on your wall is the current edition) | 29 CFR 1627.10 |
| 50 or more | Add the FMLA notice, and give it to each employee in the handbook or at hiring if any employee is eligible | 29 CFR 825.300 |
Step 3. Check the wall itself. For each notice on your list, tick three boxes: it is posted where employees can readily see it, and, for the polygraph, EEO, age discrimination and FMLA notices, where applicants can see it too; it is not covered, torn or written on; and it is the current edition.
Step 4. Check every location. One set per store. A notice at the first store does not cover the second.
Step 5. Check language. At the FMLA threshold, if a significant portion of your staff are not literate in English, add the notice in a language they read. For other notices, add translated copies where the agency offers them, as a store policy.
Step 6. Add state and local notices and date the page. List them on the same page, then write the date and who checked the wall.
State and local posters are a separate list
Every notice in this article is federal. States and cities set their own posting rules, which stores generally post as well. The Department of Labor’s poster tool makes the same point: “You may want to contact your State Department of Labor to obtain information about your state’s requirements.”
Where a state or local rule is stricter than the federal one, the stricter rule applies to your store. This article does not summarize any state’s rules. Your state labor department and your city or county are the right sources.
Where the POS fits, and where it does not
A point-of-sale system does not hang posters or decide which laws cover your store. It connects to this subject at the headcount. NRS’s home page describes its employee time clock this way: “Effortlessly track time and attendance for all employees, including POS Users and ‘Time Clock Only’ users.” Attendance records can show when the staff count is nearing 15, 20 or 50, a good moment to rerun the checklist. Who counts as an employee remains a question for your payroll records and your attorney.
For the pay rules that sit behind the minimum wage notice, see NRS’s guide to wage and hour compliance for independent retailers, and for the state rates that may be higher than the federal one, see minimum wage by state. If the next poster on your list depends on the next hire, NRS’s notes on what to look for in hiring small business employees cover that step.
What this article leaves out. It covers only the six federal posters required by the seven rules quoted here, for private employers: not federal contractor notices, industry-specific notices or any state or local poster. It gives no penalty amounts. The safety regulation says an employer failing to comply “shall be subject to citation and penalty in accordance with the provisions of § 1903.15(d),” and penalty figures are adjusted over time. It does not decide whether any particular worker counts as an employee. The sources were read on 21 October 2026, the EEOC, age discrimination and safety rules again on 27 October 2026, and all of them can change.
Frequently asked questions
I have two part-time employees. Do I need any federal posters?
Very likely, yes. The safety notice applies to “Each employer,” and USERRA “applies to all public and private employers in the United States, regardless of size.” The polygraph and minimum wage notices also carry no headcount threshold in the sections reviewed.
When does the EEOC Know Your Rights poster become required?
When the store has an obligation under Title VII, the ADA, GINA or the PWFA, which for a private employer generally means “fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.”
Can I post the notices on a tablet instead of the wall?
Not as a general rule. The FMLA regulation accepts electronic posting on conditions, and the EEOC says that “In most cases, electronic posting supplements the physical posting requirement.” Keep paper copies on the wall.
Do I need the FMLA poster if none of my employees qualify for leave yet?
Yes, if the store is a covered employer with 50 or more employees under the FMLA count. The regulation states: “Covered employers must post this general notice even if no employees are eligible for FMLA leave.”
Key takeaways
- Four federal notices discussed here carry no headcount threshold: minimum wage (for employees covered by the Act), job safety and health, polygraph protection and USERRA.
- The EEOC’s Know Your Rights poster starts at 15 employees and also carries the age discrimination notice that applies at 20; the FMLA notice starts at 50. Seven rules, six posters.
- The headcount tests look at each working day in 20 or more weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, so a store that met a count last year is still covered this year.
- Post where notices to employees are customarily posted, where applicants can see the polygraph, EEO, age discrimination and FMLA notices, keep notices uncovered, and put a full set in every store.
- Electronic posting is accepted for the FMLA notice on conditions and mainly supplements the EEOC poster. Keep printed copies on the wall.
- State and local posters are a separate list, and the stricter rule applies.
- Fill in the Breakroom Wall Checklist for each store and run it again whenever the staff count changes.
