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 by publishing a final rule in the Federal Register.

The rule will make 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 statutory deadline for publication of the new rule was January 15. However, the Office of the Federal Register is affected by the lapse in appropriations funding. Thus, publication of the rule was delayed. The final rule was published and becomes effective January 23, 2019. The final rule is available on the Federal Register's website at: Department of Labor Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Annual Adjustments for 2019.