Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) First to Double-Down on DOJ’s Civil Penalties for FCA Violations

By Thomas Sullivan Last updated May 5, 2018

In early July of this year, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) became the first federal agency to implement the mandatory requirements under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, the doubling of civil monetary penalties (“CMPs”) to be assessed for violations of the False Claims Act (FCA). Specifically, the new RRB final rules now increase the minimum per claim civil penalty from $5,500 to $10,781 and increasing the maximum per claim civil penalty from $11,000 to $21,563. Life science companies should be cognizant of such changes, where agencies such as the RRB, are significantly changing the landscape on how civil penalties are being calculated, imposed, and otherwise assessed against FCA violators.

Buried in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 64 Is a provision that requires agencies to increase increases the civil monetary penalties (“CMPs”), including False Claims Act (FCA) penalties.