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

The U.S. Department of Labor is issuing this notification of no inflation adjustment to U.S. Department of Labor civil monetary penalties for 2026.  The Mine Safety and Health Administration’s civil penalty amounts for 2025 will be applied to the civil penalty amounts for 2026. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act) requires the Department to annually adjust its civil monetary penalty levels for inflation no later than January 15 of each year. The Inflation Adjustment Act provides a cost-of-living formula for adjustment of the civil penalties based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics 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.

* Due to the October-November 2025 lapse in appropriations, the Office of Management and Budget instructed agencies to continue using the 2025 civil monetary penalties as applicable.