Companies are going to have to be even more careful about following rules set by the EEOC and DOL to avoid hefty fines. First, the EEOC announced an increase in its notice-posting violations. Then, the DOL also announced civil penalty increases.

The EEOC increased the maximum penalty for violating the notice-posting rules under the ADA, GINA, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to $525 from its previous level $210. Since then, the DOL has also released a list of increased penalties for the 2016 year. These include:

• Penalty for willful violations of FLSA minimum wage and overtime rules increased from $1,100 to $1,894
• The FMLA penalty for violating the law’s posting requirements will increase from $110 to $163 for each separate offense
• OSHA penalties:
  • Serious violations increased from $7,000 to $12,471
  • Its top penalty for willful or repeated violations is increasing from $70,000 to $124,709
  • ERISA penalties:
    • Penalty for not providing a summary of benefits and coverage to affected individuals will increase from $1,000 to $1,087
    • Failing to inform employees of Children’s Health Insurance Program opportunities will increase from $100 to $110
    • Failing to provide notices to retirement plan participants informing them of automatic contribution arrangements is going up from $1,000 to $1,632.

Since the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 was passed in November, this is the first year of implementation for these increases. However, they can be expected to keep climbing each year. The act directs federal agencies to adjust their civil monetary penalties for inflation each year.

With this act passed, employers and companies will need to be more aware of regulations, laws, and how they are handling them. A great way to avoid unintentional violations is with a risk assessment by InnovaCounsel. Visit their website to learn more about how risk assessments can help businesses.