DOL Increases Penalties for Violations of Several Employment Laws
Author: Michael Cardman, XpertHR Legal Editor
January 3, 2018
The US Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new rule increasing the penalties for violations of many of the employment regulations it is charged with enforcing, including those involving the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). The increases apply to any penalties assessed after January 2, 2018, for violations that occurred after November 2, 2015.
Congress passed a law in 2015 requiring the DOL to adjust its civil monetary penalties for inflation each year in order "to improve the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties and to maintain their deterrent effect."
This year's penalty adjustments include the following:
Law | Type of Violation | Maximum Penalty 2017 | Maximum Penalty 2018 |
---|---|---|---|
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) | FMLA notice-posting requirements under +29 CFR § 825.300(a)(1) | $166 | $169 |
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) | Repeated or willful violations of the minimum wage and overtime provisions under +29 CFR § 578.3(a) | $1,925 | $1,964 |
Child labor violations under +29 CFR § 570.140(b)(1) or +29 CFR § 579.1(a)(1)(i)(A) | $12,278 | $12,529 | |
Child labor violations that cause serious injury or death under +29 CFR § 570.140(b)(2) or +29 CFR § 579.1(a)(1)(i)(B) | $55,808 | $56,947 | |
Willful or repeated child labor violations that cause serious injury or death under +29 CFR § 570.140(b)(2) or +29 CFR § 579.1(a)(1)(i)(B) | $111,616 | $113,894 | |
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) | Serious and other-than-serious violations under +29 CFR § 1903.15(d)(3)-(4) | $12,675 | $12,934 |
Willful violations under +29 CFR § 1903.15(d)(1) | $126,749 | $129,336 | |
Repeated violations under +29 CFR § 1903.15(d)(2) | $126,749 | $129,336 | |
Posting requirement violations under +29 CFR § 1903.15(d)(6) | $12,675 | $12,934 | |
Failure-to-abate violations under +29 CFR § 1903.15(d)(5) | $12,675 | $12,934 |
Note: Penalty amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
The DOL also adjusted penalties for violations of certain regulations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (regarding the H-2A, D-1 and H-1B visa programs), the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act, among others.