Tom Corbett can stand in line with all of the other state attorneys general who have gone after Mandatory Poster Agency Inc. claiming the company engaged in fraudulent marketing practices.

The company has come to a settlement with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office in which it has agreed to pay $10,000 in civil penalties and another $10,000 toward future public protection. It also will offer refunds to the more than 400 companies that bought its food service compliance posters.

Mandatory Poster Agency also has agreed to stop trying to confuse companies into thinking it is a government agency.

Labor and food service posters are a confusing business because the laws about the posters keep changing.

Ashley Kaplan, an attorney with Florida-based G. Neil, which also sells the posters, said Pennsylvania employers are required to display 12 different posters from four state and federal agencies.

While it is possible to obtain the posters from the agencies, the time required to research the posting requirements and contact the agencies makes it a difficult job for many employers to do.

Before buying those posters, Ms. Kaplan's advice is that employers should make sure they are dealing with a reputable firm, which they can check with the Better Business Bureau. They also should make sure the company from which they are buying posters has attorneys on staff to research the posting requirements and they should make sure the posters they put up meet the requirements in terms of font size and colors.

She said despite the publicity surrounding Mandatory Poster Agency, the entire industry is not a scam.

Mandatory Poster Agency has been sued by the states of Idaho, Kentucky, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and its home state of Michigan.

The owner, Thomas Fata, did not respond to a written request to be interviewed for this article.