Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, DOL NEWS—Department to publish plans in response to EO concerning alleged ‘overcriminalization’ of regulatory offenses, (Jun 24, 2025)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

The report will detail criminal regulatory offenses enforceable by DOL or DOJ, as well as applicable penalties.

The Department of Labor (DOL) will publish a notice in the Federal Register tomorrow advising the public that, by May 9, 2026, it will, in consultation with the U.S. Attorney General, provide a report to the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) describing its plan to address criminally liable regulatory offenses. DOL published its notice pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 14294, “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.”

EO requirements. The EO provides that, within 45 days of the order, and in consultation with the Attorney General, each agency must publish in the Federal Register a description of its plan to address criminally liable regulatory offenses. DOL’s report will contain a list of all criminal regulatory offenses enforceable by DOL or the Department of Justice (DOJ) and, for each such criminal regulatory offense, the range of potential criminal penalties for a violation and the applicable mens rea standard for the criminal regulatory offense.

Considerations for criminal referral to DOJ. DOL also announced a general policy that when DOL is deciding whether to refer alleged violations of criminal regulatory offenses to DOJ, officers and employees of DOL should consider the following: whether an employee has died or was seriously injured as a result of a violation of one of the laws that DOL enforces; whether the putative defendant’s conduct is particularly egregious, such as where the employer has a history of similar violations; whether the putative defendant has deliberately impeded Department of Labor investigative efforts; whether workers were physically or mentally coerced, such as in cases involving trafficking or extortion; the harm or risk of harm, pecuniary or otherwise, caused by the alleged offense; the potential gain to the putative defendant that could result from the offense; whether the putative defendant held specialized knowledge, expertise, or was licensed in an industry related to the rule or regulation at issue; and evidence, if any is available, of the putative defendant’s general awareness of the unlawfulness of his conduct as well as his knowledge or lack thereof of the regulation at issue.

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