By David Slaughter, JD, Senior Legal Editor
Maximum penalties for violating many employment and benefits laws were increased, some of them substantially, by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in a departmentwide rule published July 1 (81 Fed. Reg. 43429).
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The increases were made to implement the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. This law directed agencies to adjust their penalties for inflation each year using a much more straightforward method than previously available, and it required agencies to publish “catch-up” rules this summer to make up for lost time since the last adjustments.
“Civil penalties should be a credible deterrent that influences behavior far and wide,” said DOL Secretary Thomas Perez in a statement. “Adjusting our penalties to keep pace with the cost of living can lead to significant benefits for workers and can level the playing field responsible employers who should not have to compete with those who don’t follow the law.”