Heads up: DOL ups the ante on violations of workplace laws like FLSA

This year, employers may be surprised to find the penalty for failing to file a Form 5500 jumped all the way to $2,063 per day (up from $1,100). But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  

That’s because, for the first time since 2003, the DOL adjusted the penalties for violations of federal laws like ERISA, the FLSA, FMLA and even OSHA.

The increases are the result of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 2015, which directs agencies to adjust civil penalties annually for inflation.

What you’ll be fined now

The DOL just released a list of the penalties that will be increasing during the remainder of 2016, including:

• FLSA: Willful violations of minimum wage and overtime rules will increase to $1,894 (up from $1,100)
• FMLA: Per-offense posting requirement penalties $163 (up from $110), and
• ERISA: The penalty for not providing an ACA Summary Statement jumps to $1,087 (from $1,000), failing to inform workers of Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) opportunities increases to $110 (from $100), and failing to provide notices to retirement plan participants about retirement contribution arrangements increases to $1,632 (from $1,000), and
• OSHA: Top penalty for serious violations climbs from $7,000 to $12,471 and its top penalty for willful or repeated violations jumps from $70,000 to $124,709.

Finance pros can find the complete list here.