In 2015, Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015 (the “Inflation Adjustment Act”) to direct federal agencies to adjust the civil monetary penalties for inflation every year. Civil penalties ensure compliance with federal regulation by incentivizing employers not to violate federal regulation and providing federal agencies the power to ensure compliance. However, when penalties are too low, or have failed to be increased for inflation, compliance with federal regulation remains stagnant.

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently published the annual adjustments for 2018 that increase certain penalties applicable to employee benefit plans

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As always please contact your Total Benefit Solutions account manager at (215)355-2121 if you have any additional questions or concerns.