Notice of Final Rule Adjusting Penalty Amounts

Division of Coal Mine Workers' Compensation (DCMWC)

The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 requires the Department of Labor (DOL) to annually adjust its civil money penalty levels for inflation. On January 13, 2017, DOL promulgated a final rule adjusting penalties for 2017. The rule makes small upward adjustments to the following penalties assessed by the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs under the Black Lung Benefits Act:

• 20 C.F.R. 725.621
  Failure to file required reports.
• 20 C.F.R. 726.302
  Failure to secure payment of benefits.

The public inspection version of the rule is available on the Federal Register's website. The Federal Register will publish the final version on January 18, 2017. The rule became effective on January 13, 2017.