On October 19, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster, updating the “Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law” poster and supplement that many employers are required to post. The poster summarizes the federal laws enforced by the EEOC prohibiting job discrimination or retaliation based on protected characteristics or activities. The information includes a new QR code link, providing workers and applicants with quick access to instructions for filing a charge of workplace discrimination with the EEOC.

The EEOC identified the following key changes to the poster:

• “Uses straightforward language and formatting”;

• “Notes that harassment is a prohibited form of discrimination”;

• “Clarifies that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity”; and

• “Provides information about equal pay discrimination for federal contractors.”

The second page of the poster covers federal contractors and subcontractors and programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. The federal contractor section includes information that was previously contained in the separate “EEO is the Law” supplemental poster. The incorporated information features a section about pay secrecy, inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under Executive Order 11246, and updated language per regulations under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974.

The new poster also provides a brief introduction to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and several methods of contact. Employers seeking to update the posting can find copies of the poster in English and Spanish and more information at the EEOC’s website.