On April 20, 2022 the U.S. Department of Education increased fines for violating the Jeanne Clery Act from $59,017 to $62,689. Pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 the Department is required to adjust fines for inflation each year.
The increased amount applies to any violations that occurred after November 2, 2015 and for which the penalty was imposed after April 20, 2022. Due to a five-year statute of limitations on Clery fines this means that any per violation penalty going forward will be at least $62,689.
The $3,672 increase is significantly larger than prior increases due to corresponding increases in the Consumer Price Index, on which the indexing is based. In 2021 fines increased from $58,328 to $59,017, and in 2020 fines increased from $58,328 to $59,017. When enacted in 1990 the Clery Act adopted a $25,000 per violation fine amount originally added to the Higher Education Act, where Clery is located, on October 17, 1986.