Hanif asks how CCHR sets penalties and about statutory maximum
Hanif asks how CCHR sets penalties and how often it pursues the maximum. Rivera says factors include public impact, size and sophistication of the bad actor, cooperation, and egregiousness, and explains the normal cap is $125,000 and maximum is $250,000 for willful and egregious violations.
Got it.
So would you be able to share how you're setting the penalties?
Absolutely.
So how penalties are set is really determined and laid out by several factors in our case law.
That can include the public impact.
We believe it's going to impact more individuals.
We're going to increase civil penalties.
The size and sophistication of the bad actor is going to play a big part as well.
We look at their willingness and cooperation during our investigation, if it is something that we can quickly resolve.
And also, honestly, the egregiousness of the incident is going to play a large factor as well.
And you said that the statutory maximum is $200,000?
$250,000 if we can demonstrate that the violation was willful and egregious.
The normal cap is about $125,000.
Got it.
And I was going to mention that the 2026 report...
Penalties range from none to $110,000.
How often are you pursuing the statutory maximum?
Because we do want it to be a true deterrent effect, you know, we're really seeking maximum penalties for those particularly egregious cases and repeat offenders.
It is a tool that, of course, we're going to try and utilize in settlement negotiations, and so we might not necessarily start off with that number.
But if we are moving to trial, we know that a case is particularly egregious and a respondent has the resources and it's going to make the impact that we think it is, we're going to advocate and argue for the most penalties possible.