Recordkeeping/Posters Law Summaries
Montana, Recordkeeping/Posters Law Summaries
WHAT THE EMPLOYER MUST DO
Employers in Montana have recordkeeping responsibilities under the state's wage and hour law, child labor law, unemployment insurance law, fair employment practices law and drug testing law. See RECORDKEEPING below for specific requirements.
In addition to any federally required posters, the following are required to be posted by private sector Montana employers: Notice of Subjectivity for Unemployment Insurance and Posting Notice for Workers' Compensation Coverage. See POSTERS below for specific requirements.
RECORDKEEPING
Minimum wages and overtime pay.- Employers must maintain and preserve payroll or other records containing the following information and data with respect to each employee to whom the wage and hour law applies (MontAdminR 24.16.6102):
name in full, and on the same record, the employee's identifying symbol or number if such is used in place of name on any time, work or payroll records. This must be the same name as that used for Social Security record purposes.
home address, including zip code.
date of birth.
sex and occupation in which employed (sex may be indicated by use of the prefixes Mr., Mrs., or Miss).
time of day and day of week on which the employee's workweek begins. If the employee is part of a workforce or employed in or by an establishment all of whose workers have a workweek beginning at the same time on the same day, a single notation of the time of the day and beginning day of the workweek for the whole workforce or establishment will suffice. If, however, any employee or group of employees has a workweek beginning and ending at a different time, a separate notation must then be kept for that employee or group of employees.
regular hourly rate of pay, and length of pay period.
hours worked each workday and total hours worked each workweek.
total daily or weekly straight-time earnings or wages.
total weekly overtime compensation.
total additions to or deductions from wages paid each pay period. Every employer making additions to or deductions from wages must also maintain, in individual employee accounts, a record of the dates, amounts and nature of the items that make up the total additions and deductions.
total wages paid each pay period.
date of payment and the pay period covered by payment.
Retention requirement: three years (MontAdminR 24.16.6102).
Bona fide executive, administrative or professional employees.- With respect to persons employed in a bona fide executive, administrative or professional capacity, employers must maintain and preserve records containing all the information enumerated above, except for items (6) through (10), and in addition, the basis on which wages are paid (MontAdminR 24.16.6102).
Place of records.- Each employer must keep the required records safe and accessible at the place or places of employment, or at one or more established central recordkeeping offices where such records are customarily maintained. Where the records are maintained at a central recordkeeping office, other than in the place or places of employment, such records must be made available within 72 hours following notice from the Administrator or his or her duly authorized and designated representative (MontAdminR 24.16.6102).
Inspection.- All records must be open at any time to inspection and transcription by the Administrator or his or her duly authorized and designated representative (MontAdminR 24.16.6102).
Child labor: Student-learner agreements.- Copies of student-learner agreements (see ¶27-1500 ) must be kept on file by employers (Mont CodeAnn, Secs. 41-2-109 and 41-2-110).
Inspection.- The Department of Labor and Industry may at any time enter and have access to employment records kept on file by an employer that may aid in the enforcement of the child labor law (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 41-2-116).
Unemployment insurance.- Employers must keep true and accurate work records, containing information prescribed by the Department of Labor and Industry (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 39-51-603).
The records must be open to inspection and audit and must be available for copying by the department at any reasonable time and as often as may be necessary. The information obtained is confidential, except to the extent that it is necessary for the presentation of a claim (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 39-51-603).
Retention requirement: five years (Mont AdminCode, Sec. 24.11.701).
Reports.- The department and the chairperson of any appeal tribunal may require employers to submit sworn or unsworn reports on their employees. Information obtained from reports is confidential (except to the extent necessary for the proper presentation of a claim) and may not be published or open to inspection in any manner that would reveal an employer's or employee's identity (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 39-51-603).
Fair employment practices.- Employers and the state must maintain records on age, sex and race that are required to administer the civil rights laws and regulations (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 49-2-102).
Drug testing.- If an employee presents a reasonable explanation or medical opinion that original test results were not caused by illegal use of controlled substances or by alcohol consumption, the test results must be removed from the employee's record and destroyed (Sec. 6, H. 345, L. 1997).
A random testing process must include a procedure that requires the employer to obtain a signed statement from each employee confirming that the employee has received a written description of the random selection process and that requires the employer to maintain the statement in the employee's personnel file (Sec. 4, H. 345, L. 1997).
Medical information privacy rules.- In Montana, a licensee may not disclose personal or privileged information about an individual collected or received in connection with an insurance transaction (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 33-19-306, as amended by Ch. 385 (H. 205), L. 2003).
“Licensee” means (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 33-19-104, as amended by Ch. 385 (H. 205), L. 2003):
an insurance institution, insurance producer, or other person who is licensed or required to be licensed, authorized or required to be authorized, or registered or required to be registered pursuant to this title; or
a surplus lines insurer.
Disclosure may be made with the written authorization of the individual. Disclosure limited to that which is reasonably necessary may be made to a person to enable the person to provide information to the disclosing licensee for the purpose of detecting or preventing criminal activity, fraud, material misrepresentation, or material nondisclosure in connection with an insurance transaction (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 33-19-306, as amended by Ch. 385 (H. 205), L. 2003).
POSTERS
PLEASE NOTE: Posters are provided for informational purposes only. Many states require posters to be of a particular size, or may require the official poster provided by the regulating agency to be posted, rather than a copy. Please check with the relevant agency to assure proper compliance.
Minimum wages and overtime pay.- Every employer employing any employees who are not specifically exempt from both the minimum wage and overtime provisions must post and keep posted such notices pertaining to the applicability of the law as are prescribed by the Wage and Hour section, in conspicuous places in every establishment where such employees are employed (MontAdminR 24.16.6102).
Montana Minimum Wage Poster
MT_Wage.pdf
Wage payment.- Each employer or an authorized representative of the employer must, on written demand, prior to the commencing of work, notify each employee as to the rate of wages to be paid, whether by the hour, day, week, month or year, and date of paydays. The notification must be in writing to each employee or by posting of notice in a conspicuous place. An employer who has entered into a signed collective bargaining agreement need not follow these notification procedures when such agreement contains conditions of employment, wages to be received and hours to be worked. Employers engaged in agriculture or stock raising are also exempt from the notification provisions (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 39-3-203).
Unemployment insurance.- Employers must post and maintain printed notices to their workers informing them that the employer is liable for unemployment insurance contributions and has so registered (Mont AdminCode, Sec. 24.11.705). In addition, employers are required to post and maintain printed statements of the regulations concerning filing claims for benefits (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 39-51-2401).
Employers receive the certificate of coverage when they file for coverage. The unemployment poster must be displayed on an employee bulletin board.
How to order.- To obtain unemployment insurance posters, call 1-800-550-1513.
Fair employment practices.- Employers may be required to post in a conspicuous place prepared or approved notices setting forth requirements for compliance with the Human Rights Act or other relevant information that is necessary to explain the law (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 49-2-202); however, the following employment discrimination poster is only required for state agencies and not for private sector employers:
Montana Employment Discrimination Poster
MT_Emp_Discrim.pdf
Montana Nondiscrimination - EEO Complaint Resolution Procedure
MT_Nondiscrimination.pdf
Disability.- A public employer must, by posting or on the application form, give notice of the preferences that the Montana Handicapped Persons' Employment Preference Act provides in public employment (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 39-30-206).
Smoking in the workplace.- The proprietor or manager of an establishment containing enclosed public places shall post a sign in a conspicuous place at all public entrances to the establishment stating, in a manner that can be easily read and understood, that smoking in the enclosed public place is prohibited (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 50-40-104, as amended by H. 643, L. 2005, effective October 1, 2005).
Whistleblowers.- Employers must post adequate notices at locations where notices are normally posted informing employees about their rights under the Employee and Community Hazardous Chemical Information Act (Mont CodeAnn, Sec. 50-78-201).
How to order.- For information about the hazardous chemical notice, contact your local health officer or county attorney.
Workers' compensation.- The employer receives the workers' compensation certificate of coverage when it files for coverage. The workers' compensation poster must be displayed on an employee bulletin board. To obtain workers' compensation posters, call 1-800-336-8968.
<p>Workers' compensation.— The employer receives the workers' compensation certificate of coverage when it files for coverage.</p>