Employers who skirt employment law will find themselves facing harsher penalties,says a filing by the Federal Register, after the Department of Labor has increasedpenalties for violations.

HRDive reports that employers will be on the hook for an average of 2%more across the board for any violations, according to a Bloomberg Law report, with maximum penalties for violatingminimum-wage and overtime rules increasing from $1,925 to $1,964, whilepenalties for child labor law violations have risen from $12,278 to$12,529 and those for violating anti-retaliation and discriminationlaws under visa programs are up from $20,111 to $20,521.

Those who endanger children will face some of the stiffesthikes, with penalties for workplace injuries or deaths of childworkers up from $55,808 to $56,947, while companies being penalizedfor the willful replacement of American workers under the H-1B visaprogram will pay $52,641, up from $51,588. The Federal CivilPenalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015requires government agencies to adjust maximum penalties forinflation.

The DOL is still waiting for multiple vacancies to be filled bythe administration, although at the moment it's plowing ahead withenforcement of federal labor laws. But it's not clear whether itsdirection will remain the same under President Trump as it wasunder Obama, and a number of actions so far imply that change is inthe wind.

Labor already seems to be shifting gears from enforcement toprevention, visible in the more lenient settlement agreementannouncements that have been announced since he took office.

In addition, more business-friendly actions have already beencarried out under the Republican administration, with therescission of Obama-era guidance on joint employment by the laborsecretary and the proposal to rescind 2011 tip pool regulations infavor of employers.

The report adds that the DOL also has plans to issue replacementovertime rules, and might find itself faced with the need to dealwith independent contractor issues arising out of the growth of thegig economy.

From: BenefitsPro