Agave Mountain

We got these too! It really does look like an official government or tax document or something like that. I looked into it because I was really concerned about it. Turns out you can buy them from lots of places, not just them as they would lead you to believe! Glad to know you can get these for free. Even if I wanted one of these all in one posters and was willing to pay for it, I sure wouldn't buy from those guys! Thanks for your post!

Hi,
I received this one too. 'As a registered employer you must....'.

I am not even a registered employer. They've just digged up my company name from somewhere (probably from one of the free magazine databases).

They really did their best using terms like 'fines up to 17.000$','this attorney-approved poster','save 40% of wall-space','Space-Saver-1 (tm) All-On-One-State and Federal Labor Law Poster'.

And, of course, the 'We Pay The Fine' Reimbursement Guarantee.

We got one too !
March 27, 2007

A year later and nothing has changed.

In the 8 years I have been with my company, I never received a notice of compliance so I thought it strange that I would receive one this year. When I received the FINAL NOTICE with all their OSHA (it's the law) and Fair Labor Standards Act Notice with a $17,000 fine verbage, I sent in my $45.90. Today I received a call from them stating that I needed to send in another $118.00 for another government required poster. That's when I went online and discovered it was a scam. I called my bank immediately and put a stop payment on the check which, thankfully, has not cleared our account.

I was just "bullied" by them too. After telling them that my payroll company was taking care of these updates they told me that they had additional info that we needed. they just sent me some info and a bill for $175!! Does anyone know what will happen if we don't pay them?

Oh common!!!It's just a piece of paper. It's just a mailer. The letter is intended for EMPLOYERS, if you receive it and you are not an employer then simply use your common sense and throw the letter away since it does not pertain to you. Why do you waste your time complaining about it? Learn how to read and understand.My husband got one too and just simply ignored it and he has a business. They're other things to do out there.

I don't think anybody is really paying attention here. It's NOT a SCAM. The reality is if your not compliant then you leave yourself open to fines that YES can be up to $17,000 PER VIOLATION stated by law. That is the truth!!! What you're seeing is aggressive marketing not false advertising. If this was really a scam why does almost every legitimate business out there that has employee's religiously have these posters on their break room walls? I know several corporations that have internal auditors check their facilities and make sure they have the most up to date and compliant posters. It's that serious of a matter.

Is it possible you may be compliant? Sure! Is it possible that you think your compliant and not? Yes! Can you get this information from your state department for free? Sure! Are they going to keep you up to date when changes are made. Definitely not unless you contact them first. Could your employees rat you out? Yes! Would they? I'm not sure but the last I remember we live in a law suit happy world where people with no life are always looking for an opportunity to make their selves bigger than what they are.

Every employer knows the difficulties in finding good, hard working, honest, and loyal employees. Of course the reality of the actual number of employees going into the work place and making sure your compliance posters are compliant is probably slim I do know there are always people trying to sue their employers for something done against them. Of course when it comes time for legal action their lawyers can and more than likely will pull you apart and check that information. So when in front of a judge or jury their lawyer is going to show your carelessness, and lack of ability to do the right thing. This will only further validate their point that you (the employer) does not do the right thing making the reality of a $100k law suit more real and now obligating you up to $17,000 (per violation) in fines from the state and federal government also. Aside from lawyer fees, at a minimum you could of avoided at least $17k in fees and depending on the suit perhaps an additional $100k or more.

As far as getting this information from the state, yeah you can get it for free but do you know where to look? Do you know who exactly to speak to at the department of labor and what to ask for? Can you trust that person? Do they know all the laws and recent changes? From my own experience dealing with any government regulated agency they could care less. They're state workers...might as well call their selves a union. They work on their schedule and sorry to say it's not yours. They are just handing you the information that was handed to them. I can barely recall any body that I have ever know to have a state job and really care about customer service and having the dedication to understand their job as a leader and reputable source. Companies like this make it their job to provide you (the employer) with the most up to date and accurate information while guaranteeing their work and paying any fines due to their works mistakes. I find it more of a service to have a "All-in-One" poster with all the necessary information that is pertinent to my company, in my state, in my industry instead of having ten separate pages stapled to my wall. I will gladly pay the $50 and if during the year there are changes to the law it's nice to know that someone will contact me and offer me an update that only cost $10-15. Do you really expect with all your tax dollars you pay the state is going to contact you and take care of you? Think again and come out from under that rock and join the rest of us.

So what does this all mean? It's insurance on your company's well being. It doesn't cover everything (fire, theft, tornado etc.) but I much rather pay a couple hundred dollars a year to keep my self out of paying the state and federal governments/agencies thousands of dollars in fines. I'm speaking from experience. I had to deal with this before and it cost me a lot of time and money that could of been spent on more important things i.e. taking care of my family (which is first) and growing my business. Had I done my homework life would of been easier. I got my compliance posters but I didn't get them from Personnel Concepts and that ended up being part of my problem. They didn't keep me up to date and after doing some research they weren't even up to date or compliant. What I also found out was out of all the companies that provide compliance assistance Personnel Concepts was the best source. They were the pioneers of the All-in-One and Space Saver compliance posters. They started this industry of posters and are definitely a dedicated source that has some of the best customer service out there for this industry. I use them now. I like the convenience of having a one stop informative source for my business needs...and my time is important. I do agree their advertising sometimes is a bit aggressive however we all get junk in our mail. So stop being a baby and do what most people do...throw it away...if you really don't care about your business.

It's funny...how we never think about insurance or how we need it until it happens to us. Good luck finding the truth however, in the mean time I'm not going to take a chance again...besides the fines are written in law in black and white.

To the person who posted on July 23, 2008...How long have you worked for Personnel Concepts? I just got one of these mailers and, yes, it is advertising but it is made to look as official as possbile and is clearly a ploy to get people to pay for something they can easlity take care of themselves. If you don't have a payroll company, look at this website...its free. http://www.dol.gov/osbp/sbrefa/poster/matrix.htm

p

I faxed a copy of the mailed items to the Police Investigation Department of Ontario California where this originated. They are interested and investigating now. It may end up being legal to sell things given free by the government but it is just plain dishonest business using intimidation to make unsuspecting people buy into it. I am not a business owner and received their letter anyway. I also submitted a complaint to the Better Business Bureau of California. This kind of sales tactic needs to stop and people need to know.

All you people are a bunch of babies. If you get something you don't like whats so hard about throwing it away in the trash. I guess wasting more of your so-called valuable time on trash is more important than taking care of your business.

I agree with the previous poster. I am more concerned about huge government bailouts that reward incompetence and mismanagement than a company who sells state and labor law posters.

I am a paralegal and in my opinion this company provides a service that some businesses would rather pay for than to spend the time researching themselves. You can wash your car for free but there are still carwashes who will do it for you for a price. Is that a scam too??? There are many legal issues surrounding employment law that companies such as this one take the time to research on a regular basis and keep their customers up to date. Large companies employ a full staff of HR personnel just to make sure that they are in compliance. Smaller companies would do well to pay the small fee that companies such as Personnel Concepts charges to avoid incurring large penalties.

I am a small employer and received this notice too, but it was clear to me that it was not coming from a government agency. I read the advertisement, but instead of running out of my office in a panic after seeing the words "Final Notice", I chose to do a little research of my own. I'm acually happy I received it, because it prompted me to look into their claims, and as it turned out, I had been out of compliance for some time. I ended up spending way too much time researching all of this on my own, so I contacted them and had a pleasant experience. I was not sold anything I didn't want, and I now have piece of mind that I'm totally legit.

If the person that posted in June works for Personnel Concepts then so be it...It only makes a stronger case for buying from them because that person knows what they are talking about. That is the kind of company that I'd want to do business with.

My husband, who is a small business owner, received one of these and it didn't freak him out. He knew it was advertisement, but it got him to thinking that he needed to get something posted to cover his bases with his employees. Works great!

No matter what the benefits of a company like Personnel Concepts may be, by sending out bullying and purposely frightening letters to scam people into buying from them says more about the kind of company they are and the kind of people they employ. How do you sleep at night knowing you spent your day scaring people and taking advantage of the uninformed. Why not send out a letter advertising their wares and tell what that advantages are of doing business with them, instead of harrassing the unexpecting. It is wrong, dead wrong to do business in this way.

Read the back of the mailer and it says, "Notices are available FOR FREE from the government." What they are selling are "All-On-One" Posters and protection against any DOL disputes. I do agree that the advertising is a bit misleading, but take the opportunity to become versed in the labor laws and requirements. Any business owner should have already done their due diligence and this should be nothing new to them.

Perhaps someone should be scared if they are uniformed. If I take my car to the mechanic and he says something needs to be replaced then I need to be able to trust his/her reputation and take action as he see's necessary to prevent further problems. However I can go teach myself how to fix my own car and save some money but I don't have the time or patience. I much rather pay a professional. If I don't change the oil when recommended I definitely could be causing damage to what is for most people their second most valuable possession they own next to their home. How much is your business worth to you?

My point is it's not a scam. Just because it scares the uninformed does not mean it's a scam. People pay for services and products all the time that they can get for free or do their selves. I wouldn't call it bullying but creative marketing with a true message. Really if it was the government that sent that message you wouldn't have time to react so stop your belly aching.

That's true...it does say those posters can be obtained from the government for free. How come no one ever mentions that. I was about to say something bad against them but I have no right. I didn't read and they clearly state it. I guess people are quicker to judge than they are at reading first. What a shame. I guess you can't blame Personnel Concepts. After all it's not there fault people are uniformed.

State and federal labor law posters are in the public domain, like most everything the government publishes. This company can do whatever they want with them. They put them all on one poster and sell it, along with the guarantee and all that jazz. I kinda wish I would have thought of doing it myself. I paid the 40 bucks and other than dealing with a crafty sales rep who tried to sell me other stuff, I had an okay experience.

To the guy who posted a link to the DOL website, that's not everything you need to post. That's just the federal stuff. I started my business a year ago, and I downloaded stuff from the DOL, then I found out I had to post state posters as well. I tried to research it, but I couldn't figure out exactly what I needed. These government websites are hard to navigate through. I just got a mailer from personnel concepts, and I'm thinking about buying. Reading over everyone's comments, I don't think it's a scam.

I got this letter too. First time, I threw it out without another notice. When I got the second one saying Final Notice, I took another look and quickly googled it and found this site.

it is obvious deceptive marketing. there's a difference between deceptive marketing and aggressive marketing. I'll report it to the BBB too and let them decide if it's "aggressive or deceptive".

By the looks of it, it looks like the owner/employees of PersonalConcepts.com is taking a lot of time to write numerous comments defending their letter. Most of the comments are condensing to the recipients and I wish they would put as much time into changing their letter as they do the comments on this blog.

Can someone please describe aggressive marketing and deceptive marketing and provide an example as it relates to personnel concepts. It would be nice to know what both sides (pro's & anti's)think the differences are in aggressive and deceptive marketing. Please help!?!?