[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
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 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.
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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]
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