Inflationary Adjustments to Civil Monetary Penalties Take Effect Less than Six Months After the Last Increase

This week the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) published inflationary adjustments to civil monetary penalties.  This increase takes effect less than six months after the last increase and indicates that DOJ is eager to return to a more regular cadence after a period of less frequent inflationary adjustments (see here).  DOJ is likely eager to implement penalties that reflect the rising inflation rate, which is currently at a forty-year record high.  As we previously reported, the 2015 Balanced Budget Act (BBA) provides for federal agencies to make inflationary adjustments to civil monetary penalties on January 15 of each year to account for inflation using calculations based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index.  After an inflationary update in January 2018, only two updates have occurred until now: an update in June 2020 and a recent update in December 2021.  The revised penalties will be assessed for violations that occurred prior to the adjustment, but are assessed after May 9, 2022.  As of May 9, 2022, the minimum False Claims Act penalty of $11,803 has increased to $12,537 per claim. The maximum penalty has increased from $23,607 to $25,076 per claim.

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