Dive Brief:
- Employers will pay higher penalties for non-compliance this year, HR Morning reports. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act gives government agencies the power to raise civil penalties to adjust for inflation.
- HR Morning says the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and the Labor Dept. are increasing penalties for workplace violations for the second time in six months.
- Among the new penalty increases are violations for the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage and overtime rules, from $1,894 to $1,925; Family Medical Leave Act’s posting requirements, from $163 to $166 per offense; and OSHA’s fine for serious breaches, from $12,471 to $12,675.
Dive Insight:
The big jump in penalties for non-compliance should frighten employers into knowing the laws — both state and federal — that apply to them and adopting best business practices to avoid violations.
Some penalty increases are astronomical. OSHA’s fine for serious violations rose from $7,000 to $12,471 to $12,675. The agency’s penalties for willful or repeat offenses rose from $70,000 to $124,709, and then even further to $126,749.
The FLSA fine jumped $1,000 since the summer. And the FMLA penalty increased twice from last summer’s rate of $110.
For more pressure on employers, the penalty increases are for violations occurring as far back as Nov. 2, 2015. A monetary assessment on violations from that date was made after Jan. 13 of this year.
