In the dark of night, those crazy kids over at the U.S. Department of Labor were busy at work publishing new FMLA regulations, FMLA opinion letters, a new FMLA poster.

BREAKING NEWS: The USDOL publishes a new FMLA poster!

Let me beat you to it: Be still my beating heart!

What’s the posting requirement?

As we know, covered employers under the FMLA have a general posting requirement, which requires them to post an FMLA poster in conspicuous locations where employees are employed and where it can be readily seen by employees and applicants for employment.

FMLA-covered employers must post the poster, even if some (or even all) of their employees are not eligible for FMLA leave.

For what it’s worth, covered employers also must provide the information contained in the poster to each employee, for example, by including the poster and/or its contents in employee handbooks or other written guidance to employees, or by distributing a copy of the poster to each new employee upon hiring.

Failure to post may subject an employer to a whopping $204 penalty.

Why did the DOL Publish a New FMLA Poster?

I haven’t a clue, but one [terrible] guess is that they sought to match their new eggplant-colored poster to the eggplant color of their favorite FMLA blog.

At a time when we are begging for some clearer guidance on topics like notice of FMLA leave, intermittent leave, misuse of FMLA leave, and medical certification, we get a new FMLA poster.

Of course, the September 2013 and April 2016 poster editions are still effective to use, but now we add this latest purple shade to the mix. The new version clarifies just as much as the others did back in 2013 and 2016, but it does include a snazzy QR code. For what it’s worth, you can access the latest edition here.

I guess we all can get back to work.

Sigh.