HR mistakes just got more expensive

As anyone involved in litigation will tell you, violations of labor laws have never been cheap. But they are now more expensive than ever. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently increased penalties for a variety of violations, which became effective on January 2, 2018.

The Federal Civil Penalties Act of 1990 and the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act require the DOL to adjust its civil money penalties annually. This adjustment must be made by January 15 of each year. On January 2, 2018, DOL published the new penalty levels in the Federal Register.

Each penalty was increased by approximately 2%. For example, the maximum civil penalty for violations of the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act increased from $1,925 to $1,964. See 29 C.F.R. § 578.3 (as amended). While this may not seem like a significant increase, it is a good reminder that labor law violations can be costly—and those costs are only going to keep going up.

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© 2018