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.