EEOC announces posting penalty increase

Posted April 3 , 2020

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has increased the penalty for failure to post the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is the Law poster to $569.

The increase was announced in a final rule published in the Federal Register on March 18. The new level is $10 more than last year’s EEO is the Law posting fine and applies to penalties assessed after March 18.

The EEOC’s posting fine increase is an annual occurrence. Federal agencies are required to adjust penalties for inflation each year under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015.

The Department of Labor (DOL) announced its penalty increases on January 18, setting the following maximum fine amounts:

• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): $176
• Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law (OSHA): $13,494
• Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA): $21,410

This brings the maximum penalty for violations of federal posting requirements to $35,649. A fine would likely only be levied in situations where an employer willfully violated the law, however.

While in reality a fine for failure to display a poster is rare, the penalties are part of the law. The fact that the EEOC and DOL are meticulous in adjusting the maximum penalties each year shows that the agencies take posting compliance seriously.

Employers can stay in compliance by conspicuously displaying up-to-date employment law posters in areas where employees are likely to view them.