Cite as: 535 U. S. 81 (2002)
Opinion of the Court
That the Secretary's penalty is disproportionate and inconsistent with Congress' intent is evident as well from the sole notice provision in the Act itself. As noted above, § 2619 directs employers to post a general notice informing employees of their FMLA rights. See supra, at 88. This provision sets out its own penalty for noncompliance: "Any employer that willfully violates this section may be assessed a civil monetary penalty not to exceed $100 for each separate offense." § 2619(b). Congress believed that a $100 fine, enforced by the Secretary, was the appropriate penalty for willful violations of the only notice requirement specified in the statute. The regulation, in contrast, establishes a much heavier sanction, enforced not by the Secretary but by employees, for both willful and inadvertent violations of a supplemental notice requirement.
Section 825.700(a) is also in considerable tension with the statute's admonition that "[n]othing in this Act . . . shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining leave policies more generous than any policies that comply with the requirements under this Act." § 2653. The FMLA was intended to pull certain employers up to the minimum standard, but Congress was well aware of the danger that it might push more generous employers down to the minimum at the same time. Technical rules and burdensome administrative requirements, Congress knew, might impose unforeseen liabilities and discourage employers from adopting policies that varied much from the basic federal requirements.
Although § 825.700(a) itself is directed toward employers "provid[ing] more generous benefits than required by the FMLA," its severe and across-the-board penalty could cause employers to discontinue these voluntary programs. Compliance with the designation requirement is easy enough for companies meeting only the minimum federal requirements: All leave is given the FMLA designation. Matters are quite different for companies like Wolverine, which offer more
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