The Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration has issued interim final rules increasing certain DOL compliance penalties effective as of August 1, 2016. The highlights are:
- The maximum penalty for failure or refusal to file the Form 5500 annual report is increasing from $1,100 per day to $2,063 per day
- Failure to furnish information to the DOL under ERISA Section 104(a)(6 will now carry penalties equal to $147 per day (up from $110 per day)
- The maximum penalty for failing to provide a summary of benefits and coverage for a group health plan is increasing from $1,000 to $1,087 per failure
- Numerous miscellaneous penalties are increasing from $100 per day to $110 per day, including
- Certain violations of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), such as establishing eligibility rules based on genetic information or requesting genetic information for underwriting purposes, and
- An employer’s failure to inform employees of CHIP coverage opportunities
- The penalty for failure to provide benefit statements to certain former participants and beneficiaries in a retirement plan are increasing from $11 per employee to $28 per employee
- The penalties for failure to furnish a blackout notice (when participants are precluded from changing investment instructions, taking a loan or a distribution) are increasing from $100 per day to $131 per day
Why are the Penalties Being Increased Now? In 2015, Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Inflation Adjustment Act) as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. The new law directs agencies to adjust their civil monetary penalties for inflation.
Will the Penalties be Adjusted again in the Future? The law requires federal agencies to adjust their civil monetary penalties for inflation by July 1, 2016. After this initial “catch-up” adjustment, the agencies must adjust their civil monetary penalties annually for inflation.
When are the New Penalty Amounts Effective? The new civil penalty amounts are applicable only to civil penalties assessed after August 1, 2016, whose associated violations occurred after November 2, 2015, the date of enactment of the 2015 Inflation Adjustment Act.
More…
EBSA Fact Sheet, including full chart showing all the new penalty amounts
