Home/Policy/Department of Labor Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Annual Adjustments for 2026

Department of Labor Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Annual Adjustments for 2026

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Fed. Register
Final rule
Summary

Informational only, not legal advice. Confirm deadlines on the official notice or with a qualified professional.

The Department of Labor has cancelled its 2026 civil monetary penalty adjustments for immigration-related violations because the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not release required October 2025 inflation data due to a government funding lapse. Federal law requires penalties to be adjusted annually based on that specific inflation measure, with no alternative calculation permitted. This means penalties remain frozen at their 2025 levels for now.
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Fed. Register

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Document info
TypeRule
SourceFed. Register
PublishedMay 27, 2026

As required by statute, the Department of Labor annually publishes a final rule updating the civil monetary penalties it assesses. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) did not publish its October 2025 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) data due to a lapse in funding. Because the relevant law requires that annual penalty adjustments be based specifically on October CPI-U data--with no alternative calculation allowed--the 2026 adjustment is cancelled entirely.

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May 2026

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