Federal

Information for employers

January 6, 2026federal-laws

Information for Employers: A Practical Federal Labor Law Compliance Guide (SwiftSDS)

If you’re searching for information for employers, you’re likely looking for a clear checklist of what to do—and what to post, document, and communicate—to stay compliant with federal labor law requirements. This SwiftSDS guide organizes the most important employers and employees compliance obligations into actionable steps, with direct references to the laws that most often drive HR risk.

For broader context on the federal framework, review SwiftSDS’s employment legislation list and the companion overview on employment basics.

What “information for employers” should include (your baseline employer info)

An effective employer information sheet is more than a contact list. It’s a compliance-ready snapshot of your workplace practices and required notices. At minimum, your employer info should include:

  • Legal entity details (FEIN, registered name/DBA, headquarters address)
  • Worksite locations (physical addresses and remote workforce footprint)
  • Workplace policy owners (HR, payroll, safety, leave administrator)
  • Timekeeping and pay practices (workweek definition, overtime rules, pay dates)
  • Leave administration (FMLA eligibility tracking, state leave programs if applicable)
  • Required postings inventory (federal + state/local by location)
  • Accommodation and nondiscrimination process (ADA and EEO contacts)
  • Worker classification approach (employee vs. independent contractor guardrails)

These items ensure you can answer the questions regulators and employees most commonly ask: “What are my rights, where is the notice, who do I contact, and how do you track it?”

Core federal labor law requirements employers must cover

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): wages, overtime, and child labor

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) governs minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and child labor (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.). Practical employer actions include:

  • Confirm exempt vs. nonexempt classifications (salary basis, duties tests, minimum salary threshold where applicable).
  • Define your workweek and apply overtime correctly for nonexempt employees (generally time-and-one-half for hours over 40).
  • Maintain time and pay records required by the Wage and Hour Division.
  • Post the required FLSA notice in a conspicuous place accessible to employees.

SwiftSDS helps you keep required notices current; a common required poster is Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (and consider Spanish-language availability when appropriate, such as Derechos de los Trabajadores Bajo la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo (FLSA)).

Tip: For public employers and certain industries, there are specialized versions of the FLSA notice, including State and Local Government and Agriculture.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): eligibility and tracking

The Family and Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.) generally applies to covered employers with 50+ employees within a 75-mile radius and provides eligible employees job-protected leave for qualifying reasons.

Actionable compliance steps:

  • Track headcount and worksite radius to confirm coverage.
  • Use consistent eligibility and hours-worked calculations.
  • Provide timely notices (eligibility, rights/responsibilities, designation).
  • Maintain leave records separately from personnel files where appropriate.

If you use contractors, classification decisions can affect leave eligibility. SwiftSDS covers a common question in are contractors eligible for fmla—a helpful resource when building your employer information sheet and worker-classification SOPs.

Anti-discrimination rules: EEO, ADA accommodations, and documentation

Federal equal employment laws require nondiscriminatory practices in hiring, employment terms, and workplace conduct. Key drivers include Title VII, the ADEA, and other EEO laws enforced by the EEOC, plus the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.).

Actionable steps for employer compliance:

  • Standardize your accommodation workflow (intake → interactive process → documentation → decision).
  • Train managers to identify accommodation requests and route them correctly.
  • Maintain confidentiality of medical information.
  • Audit job descriptions to ensure essential functions are accurate.

For HR documentation, SwiftSDS provides detailed guidance on ada hr and practical paperwork considerations in ada forms for employers.

To help align policy language with federal intent, see as it pertains to employment opportunity the eeo strives to.

Posting and notice compliance: the fastest way to reduce risk

A large portion of “employer info” compliance comes down to posting the right notices—updated, visible, and correct for each location and workforce type (onsite vs. remote).

What to include in your employer information sheet for postings

Add a postings section with:

  • List of required federal posters (by law)
  • State/local posters per worksite address
  • Poster version dates and update cadence
  • Where posters are displayed (breakroom, near time clocks, intranet for remote staff when allowed/required)
  • Language needs (Spanish/other languages depending on workforce composition)

Start with SwiftSDS’s jurisdiction hub for Federal (United States) Posting Requirements, then layer in your worksite state pages—for example Ohio (OH) Labor Law Posting Requirements, Maryland (MD) Labor Law Posting Requirements, Florida (FL) Labor Law Posting Requirements, or Illinois (IL) Posting Requirements.

Location-specific example (Massachusetts): don’t miss state-required notices

If you employ workers in Massachusetts, your employer information sheet should flag state-required notices that commonly apply, such as:

Even if your focus is federal labor law requirements, your risk exposure typically comes from multi-jurisdiction gaps, especially if you have remote employees or multiple worksites.

Employer responsibilities vs. employee responsibilities (set expectations clearly)

Compliance works best when your employer information sheet distinguishes what management must do versus what employees must do.

  • Employer responsibilities: pay compliance, recordkeeping, accommodation process, lawful leave administration, required notices.
  • Employee responsibilities: accurate time reporting, following safety rules, requesting leave/accommodations through defined channels, reporting concerns.

SwiftSDS summarizes common expectations and boundaries in employee responsibilities, which you can reference when drafting handbook language or onboarding materials.

For a rights-based overview that supports training and communication, also see 5 rights of workers.

A simple compliance checklist you can implement this week

Use this as a quick-start plan for improving your employer info:

  1. Inventory all worksites and remote states where employees perform work.
  2. Map required posters by jurisdiction and workforce type (private/public, agriculture, etc.).
  3. Confirm your FLSA classification logic (exempt/nonexempt) and document it.
  4. Create an ADA accommodations intake form and routing rule (HR owner + manager do’s/don’ts).
  5. Audit your FMLA process (coverage, eligibility tracking, notice templates).
  6. Centralize documents: keep a controlled “employer information sheet” that names owners, update dates, and where to find each notice.

FAQ: employer information and compliance

What should an employer information sheet contain?

It should include your legal entity details, worksites, HR/payroll contacts, pay and timekeeping rules, leave and accommodation contacts, and a postings matrix (federal + state/local) with version dates and display locations.

Do remote employees change posting requirements?

Often, yes. You may need to provide notices electronically and ensure state-specific requirements match where the employee actually works. Start with Federal (United States) Posting Requirements, then add state pages for each employee location.

Which federal notice is most commonly missed?

The FLSA posting is a frequent issue, especially when employers change locations or move to hybrid work. Keep the current version available, such as Employee Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and confirm you’re using the correct variant for your employer type.

Keeping accurate, current information for employers isn’t just administrative—it’s how you prove compliance across wages, leave, accommodations, and mandatory notices. SwiftSDS is designed to help you tie those requirements together so your employer info stays consistent, auditable, and location-correct.