2024 Adjustment of the Penalty for Violation of Notice Posting Requirements
| Published date | 16 February 2024 |
| Record Number | 2024-03177 |
| Citation | 89 FR 12231 |
| Court | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission |
| Section | Rules and Regulations |
Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 33 (Friday, February 16, 2024)
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 33 (Friday, February 16, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12231-12232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03177]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 33 / Friday, February 16, 2024 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 12231]]
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
29 CFR Part 1601
RIN 3046-AB26
2024 Adjustment of the Penalty for Violation of Notice Posting
Requirements
AGENCY: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, this final rule adjusts for
inflation the civil monetary penalty for violation of the notice-
posting requirements in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the
Americans with Disabilities Act, the Genetic Information Non-
Discrimination Act, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
DATES: This final rule is effective February 16, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen Oram, Assistant Legal
Counsel, (202) 921-2665 or [email protected], Office of Legal
Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 131 M St. NE,
Washington, DC 20507. Requests for this notice in an alternative format
should be made to the Office of Communications and Legislative Affairs
at (202) 921-3191 (voice) or 1-800-669-6820 (TTY), or 1-844-234-5122
(ASL video phone).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Under section 711 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII),
which is adopted by reference in section 105 of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), section 207(a)(1) of the Genetic Information
Non-Discrimination Act (GINA), and section 104(a)(1) of the Pregnant
Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), and implemented by the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 29 CFR 1601.30(a), every employer,
employment agency, labor organization, and joint labor-management
committee controlling an apprenticeship or other training program
covered by Title VII, ADA, GINA, or PWFA, must post notices describing
the pertinent provisions of these laws. Covered entities must post such
notices in prominent and accessible places where they customarily
maintain notices to employees, applicants, and members. 29 CFR
1601.30(a). Failure to comply with this posting requirement is subject
to a monetary penalty. 29 CFR 1601.30(b).
Section 5(b) of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment
Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act),\1\ which amended the Federal
Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, requires the EEOC to
annually adjust the amount of the penalty for non-compliance. Under the
2015 Act, the EEOC has no discretion over whether or how to calculate
this inflationary adjustment. In accordance with section 6 of the 2015
Act, the EEOC will apply the adjusted penalty only to those assessed
after the effective date of the adjustment.
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\1\ Public Law 114-74, Sec. 701(b), 129 Stat. 599.
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II. Calculation
The adjustment set forth in this final rule follows guidance under
the 2015 Act from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) \2\ and is
calculated by comparing the Consumer Price Index for all Urban
Consumers (CPI-U) for October 2022 with the CPI-U for October 2023,
resulting in an inflation adjustment factor of 1.03241. The inflation
adjustment factor (1.03241) was multiplied by the most recent civil
penalty amount ($659) to calculate the inflation-adjusted penalty level
($680.35819), which is then rounded to the nearest dollar ($680).
Accordingly, the Commission is now adjusting the maximum penalty per
violation specified in 29 CFR 1601.30(b) from $659 to $680.
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\2\ Memorandum from Shalanda D. Young, Director, Office of
Management and Budget, to Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies, M-24-07, Dec. 19, 2023, M-24-07 at 1 (``[b]ased on the
Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for the month of October 2023, not
seasonally adjusted, the cost-of-living adjustment multiplier for
2024 is 1.03241'').
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III. Regulatory Procedures
Administrative Procedure Act
The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) provides an exception to the
notice and comment procedures where an agency finds good cause for
dispensing with such procedures, on the basis that they are
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. 5
U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B). The Commission finds that this rule meets the
exception because the 2015 Act requires an inflationary adjustment to
the civil monetary penalty, it prescribes the formula for calculating
the adjustment to the penalty, and it provides the Commission with no
discretion in determining the amount of the published adjustment.
Accordingly, the Commission is issuing this revised regulation as a
final rule without notice and comment.
Executive Order 12866
This rule is not a significant regulatory action as that term is
defined in Executive Order 12866. The inflationary adjustment's
cumulative impact on the violations found each year falls well below
the $200 million threshold for significant regulatory action under E.O.
12866, as revised by E.O. 14094, and it otherwise fails to meet the
definition of a significant regulatory action.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This final rule contains no new information collection
requirements, and therefore, will create no new paperwork burdens or
modifications to existing burdens that are subject to review by the
Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) only requires a
regulatory flexibility analysis when the APA requires notice and
comment procedures, or the agency otherwise issues such a notice. As
stated above, notice and comment is neither required nor being used for
this rule. Accordingly, the Regulatory Flexibility Act does not apply.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
This final rule will not result in the expenditure by State, local,
or tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the
[[Page 12232]]
private sector, of $100 million or more in any one year, and it will
not significantly or uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, no
actions were deemed necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1501-1571).
Congressional Review Act
This regulation is a rule subject to the Congressional Review Act
(CRA) (5 U.S.C. 801-808), but is not a ``major'' rule that cannot take
effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register.
Therefore, the EEOC will submit this rule and other required
information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and
the Comptroller General of the United States prior to the effective
date of the rule.
List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 1601
Administrative practice and procedure.
For the Commission.
Charlotte A. Burrows,
Chair, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Accordingly, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission amends 29
CFR part 1601 as follows:
PART 1601--PROCEDURAL REGULATIONS
0
1. The authority citation for part 1601 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2000e to 2000e-17; 42 U.S.C. 12111 to
12117; 42 U.S.C. 2000ff to 2000ff-11; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as
amended; Pub. L. 104-134, Sec. 31001(s)(1), 110 Stat. 1373.
0
2. Section 1601.30 is amended by revising paragraph (b) to read as
follows:
Sec. 1601.30 Notices to be posted.
* * * * *
(b) Section 711(b) of Title VII and the Federal Civil Penalties
Inflation Adjustment Act, as amended, make failure to comply with this
section punishable by a fine of not more than $680 for each separate
offense.
[FR Doc. 2024-03177 Filed 2-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6570-01-P
