Football season may have just ended but there are plenty of penalties to avoid in 2022. We have outlined the key compliance violations to avoid in 2022 with the updated penalty / fine amounts.
The U.S. Department of Labor has published a final rule to adjust for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced by the Department, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990. The Inflation Adjustment Act requires the Department to annually adjust its civil money penalty levels for inflation no later than January 15 of each year.
Depending on the compliance violation the Department of Labor (DOL), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Department of
Health & Human Services (HHS) may impose fines or penalties. Below are a few possible examples.
| Violation | Possible Fines | Department |
| ACA Reporting ALEs and Self-Funded Plans – 6055 and 6056 Reporting | $280 for each filing failure, amount cap of $3,392,000 | DOL |
| ACA Notices (e.g., Patient Protections Notice, Rescission of Coverage Notice) | $100/day | IRS |
| COBRA Notices | $110/day, per violation | DOL/ERISA |
| Failure to provide written requested ERISA plan documents, Summary Plan Descriptions, Summary of material modifications, etc. | $110/day. Failure to furnish up to $161 per day, not to exceed $1,613 per request | DOL/IRS |
| Late 5500 Report | Up to $2,400 per day | DOL/IRS |
| Failure to File annual 5500 Report | $2,400 per day | DOL |
| FMLA Violations | $178 for each separate offense | DOL |
| Failure to furnish statement of benefits or to maintain records. | $33 per employee | IRS |
| Failure to notify plan participants of benefit restrictions and/or limitations. | $1,788/recipient | DOL |
| Failure to furnish automatic contribution arrangement notice. | $1,788/recipient | DOL |
| Failure to furnish employee benefit plan documents to DOL upon request. | $2400/day | DOL |
| Failure to inform employees of Medicaid/CHIP coverage opportunities. | $127 per day per employee | DOL |
| GINA Violation | $127 per participant per day | DOL |
| Failure to provide Summary of Benefits Coverage (SBC). | Up to $1,264 per failure | DOL |
| Failure to disclose certain documents upon request (ERISA 101(k) and (l)); failure to furnish notice under ERISA 101(j) and 514(3)(e) | $1,899 per statutory recipient | DOL |
| FMLA Posting & Notice Violation | $189 for each offence | DOL |
| HIPAA Violations – No Knowledge | $60,226 per violation and up to $1,806,757 per calendar year | DOL/HHS |
| HIPAA Notice of Special Enrollment Rights | $100 per failure | CMS/HHS |
| MEWA – Failure or refusal to file a complete or accurate Form M-1. | $1,746 a day | DOL |
| Allowing premiums to be paid on a pre-tax basis for covered benefits without having either a Premium Only Plan (POP) document or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) document. | Penalty: Employer can lose the ability to allow premiums on a pre-tax basis. | IRS |
| Other – This is only a partial list of possible fines and penalties. |
