View all text of Chapter 8 [§ 201 - § 219]
§ 216. Penalties
(a) Fines and imprisonment
(b) Damages; right of action; attorney’s fees and costs; termination of right of action
(c) Payment of wages and compensation; waiver of claims; actions by the Secretary; limitation of actions
(d) Savings provisions
(e) Civil penalties for certain violations
(1)
(A) Any person who violates the provisions of sections 2
2 So in original. Probably should be “section”.
212 or 213(c) of this title, relating to child labor, or any regulation issued pursuant to such sections, shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed—(i) $11,000 for each employee who was the subject of such a violation; or
(ii) $50,000 with regard to each such violation that causes the death or serious injury of any employee under the age of 18 years, which penalty may be doubled where the violation is a repeated or willful violation.
(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term “serious injury” means—
(i) permanent loss or substantial impairment of one of the senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, tactile sensation);
(ii) permanent loss or substantial impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty, including the loss of all or part of an arm, leg, foot, hand or other body part; or
(iii) permanent paralysis or substantial impairment that causes loss of movement or mobility of an arm, leg, foot, hand or other body part.
(2) Any person who repeatedly or willfully violates section 206 or 207 of this title, relating to wages, shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,100 for each such violation. Any person who violates section 203(m)(2)(B) of this title shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,100 for each such violation, as the Secretary determines appropriate, in addition to being liable to the employee or employees affected for all tips unlawfully kept, and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, as described in subsection (b).
(3) In determining the amount of any penalty under this subsection, the appropriateness of such penalty to the size of the business of the person charged and the gravity of the violation shall be considered. The amount of any penalty under this subsection, when finally determined, may be—
(A) deducted from any sums owing by the United States to the person charged;
(B) recovered in a civil action brought by the Secretary in any court of competent jurisdiction, in which litigation the Secretary shall be represented by the Solicitor of Labor; or
(C) ordered by the court, in an action brought for a violation of section 215(a)(4) of this title or a repeated or willful violation of section 215(a)(2) of this title, to be paid to the Secretary.
(4) Any administrative determination by the Secretary of the amount of any penalty under this subsection shall be final, unless within 15 days after receipt of notice thereof by certified mail the person charged with the violation takes exception to the determination that the violations for which the penalty is imposed occurred, in which event final determination of the penalty shall be made in an administrative proceeding after opportunity for hearing in accordance with section 554 of title 5 and regulations to be promulgated by the Secretary.
(5) Except for civil penalties collected for violations of section 212 of this title, sums collected as penalties pursuant to this section shall be applied toward reimbursement of the costs of determining the violations and assessing and collecting such penalties, in accordance with the provision of section 9a of this title. Civil penalties collected for violations of section 212 of this title shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.
(June 25, 1938, ch. 676, § 16, 52 Stat. 1069; May 14, 1947, ch. 52, § 5(a), 61 Stat. 87; Oct. 26, 1949, ch. 736, § 14, 63 Stat. 919; 1950 Reorg. Plan No. 6, §§ 1, 2, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1263; Aug. 8, 1956, ch. 1035, § 4, 70 Stat. 1118; Pub. L. 85–231, § 1(2), Aug. 30, 1957, 71 Stat. 514; Pub. L. 87–30, § 12(a), May 5, 1961, 75 Stat. 74; Pub. L. 89–601, title VI, § 601(a), Sept. 23, 1966, 80 Stat. 844; Pub. L. 93–259, §§ 6(d)(1), 25(c), 26, Apr. 8, 1974, 88 Stat. 61, 72, 73; Pub. L. 95–151, § 10, Nov. 1, 1977, 91 Stat. 1252; Pub. L. 101–157, § 9, Nov. 17, 1989, 103 Stat. 945; Pub. L. 101–508, title III, § 3103, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1388–29; Pub. L. 104–174, § 2, Aug. 6, 1996, 110 Stat. 1554; Pub. L. 110–233, title III, § 302(a), May 21, 2008, 122 Stat. 920; Pub. L. 115–141, div. S, title XII, § 1201(b), Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 1148; Pub. L. 117–328, div. KK, § 102(b)(2), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 6096.)