Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, FEDERAL REGULATIONS—DOL civil monetary penalty amounts adjusted for inflation, (Jan 8, 2025)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

The final rule applies to any penalties assessed after January 15, 2025.

A final rule by the Department of Labor (DOL) adjusts for inflation civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990. The Inflation Adjustment Act requires the DOJ to annually adjust its civil monetary penalty levels for inflation no later than January 15 of each year. It also provides a cost-of-living formula for adjustment of the civil penalties.

The DOL undertook a thorough review of civil penalties administered by its various components under the Inflation Adjustment Act and in accordance with guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget. First, the DOL identified the most recent penalty amount, which is the amount established by the 2024 annual adjustment. Annual inflation adjustments are based on the percent change in the October Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) preceding the date of the adjustment, and the prior year’s October CPI-U. In this case, that amount is 1.02598. To compute the 2025 annual adjustment, the DOL multiplied the most recent penalty amount for each applicable penalty by the multiplier and rounded to the nearest dollar.

The final rule sets forth the increased penalty levels that apply to penalties assessed after the final rule’s effective date of January 15, 2025. These include civil monetary penalties for violations of section 3(m)(2)(B) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, civil monetary penalties under the H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Worker Program, and civil monetary penalties for other DOL programs.

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