Compliance Radar
Who was sanctioned, and for what?
Fines, court rulings and incidents from Europe and North America: 718 cases from 32 jurisdictions, each with an official source and checked against that source before publication. Filter by country, area of law and sector. Click a chart to drill down one level.
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Where?
by regionAll jurisdictions
What for?
by action- Other €5.22m 81 % · 1 case
- Fine €1.2m 19 % · 6 cases
- Order — 0 % · 1 case
Who?
by sectorAll sectors
When?
per quarter, by date of decision| Period | Cases | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2023 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2023 | 0 | — |
| Q1 2024 | 1 | €500,000 |
| Q2 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q3 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q1 2025 | 1 | €265,475 |
| Q2 2025 | 0 | — |
| Q3 2025 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2025 | 1 | — |
| Q1 2026 | 3 | €5.47m |
| Q2 2026 | 1 | €93,832 |
| Q3 2026 | 1 | €95,588 |
8 cases
4 Feb 2026 Alco Harvesting LLC dba Bonipak Produce Inc. und verbundene UnternehmenBonipak: $6.175 million for farmworkers over undisclosed paid sick leave €5.22m
Following the COVID death of a farmworker in employer-provided housing, the California Labor Commissioner's Office sued the agricultural business in Santa Maria in 2021: more than 10,000 farmworkers, including H-2A seasonal workers, had not been informed of their entitlement to paid sick leave; in addition, there was unpaid travel time as well as overtime and minimum wage violations. The settlement of $6,175,000 (of which $4.2 million goes directly to workers) includes posting and reporting obligations.
Information obligations towards seasonal workers are not a formality – companies that leave workers in the dark about paid sick leave are liable for the consequences.
- Authority / court
- California Labor Commissioner's Office (Division of Labor Standards Enforcement)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- California Labor Code (Paid Sick Leave, COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, Mindestlohn, Überstunden)
- Action
- Other
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Published
- 4 Feb 2026
Original amount 6,175,000 USD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 4 Feb 2026.
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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27 Aug 2026 Flower bulb business failed to disclose hours of Polish seasonal workers – fine of around 95,600 EUR €95,588
A lily and tulip grower with an average of around 50 (at peak 75) employees, where Polish migrant workers are employed (anonymised in the judgment), was unable to produce sufficient records of hours worked and wages paid for 18 employees for September 2020 to February 2021. The Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment (Minister van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid) imposed 118,000 EUR in 2024 (112,100 EUR after objection); the North Netherlands District Court (Rechtbank Noord-Nederland) reduced the fine to 95,587.50 EUR, partly because of measures taken and excessively long proceedings.
Companies employing seasonal workers must be able to document hours and wage payments for each person without gaps – missing records are fined separately for each employee.
- Authority / court
- Rechtbank Noord-Nederland (Bußgeld: Minister van Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid / Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Art. 18b Abs. 2 Wet minimumloon en minimumvakantiebijslag (Wml)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- reduced
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Employees
- 50 to 249
- Mitigating circumstances
- Reduction of 12.5 % for appropriate measures, 5 % for delay and 2,500 EUR for exceeding the reasonable length of proceedings.
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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23 Apr 2026 12066424 Canada Inc.Temporary staffing agency and director: CA$150,000 over unpaid wages €93,832
Following complaints, the labour inspectorate found, among other things, outstanding minimum wages at the temporary staffing agency in Leamington; an audit for 2022 showed that hundreds of employees were owed a total of CA$234,212 in regular wages, public holiday pay and vacation pay. The company and its director did not comply with the 2023 orders to pay; in proceedings held in their absence, the court imposed CA$100,000 on the company and CA$50,000 on the director (plus victim fine surcharge).
Companies that ignore regulatory orders to pay outstanding wages risk not only a corporate fine but also personal liability for management.
- Authority / court
- Provincial Offences Court Windsor (Ermittlung: Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Employment Standards Act, 2000 (Ontario), ss. 103(8), 106, 132, 136
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Other
- Liability of senior managers
- Director Son-Van Duong personally fined CA$50,000.
- Published
- 3 Jun 2026
Original amount 150,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 23 Apr 2026.
- Temporary Help Agency and Director Fined $150,000 Total for Failing to Pay Wages (Ontario Newsroom, Court Bulletin) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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22 Jan 2026 Logistics business: fines for minimum wage, reporting and foreign employment violations €13,731
Between June and December 2023, a logistics and transport business withheld a total of around 2,000 EUR in minimum wages from several employees, breached reporting and immediate notification obligations, and in July/August 2023 employed a foreign national without a residence permit. The fines: 5,231 EUR (minimum wage), 750 EUR each (reporting obligations) and 7,000 EUR (unauthorised employment of foreign nationals), totalling 13,731 EUR (date = publication).
Even small wage arrears are penalised individually alongside reporting and residence violations – HR processes for new hires need a fixed checklist.
Immediate notification and checking of work permits when hiring
- Authority / court
- Hauptzollamt Karlsruhe (Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- § 21 Abs. 1 Nr. 11 MiLoG; § 111 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 SGB IV; § 404 Abs. 2 Nr. 3 SGB III
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Transport, logistics and shipping
- Published
- 22 Jan 2026
- Zoll ahndet Mindestlohn- und Meldepflichtverstöße bei Logistikunternehmen (Hauptzollamt Karlsruhe) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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9 Jan 2026 Bulgarian construction subcontractor: 232,500 EUR for paying below the minimum wage €232,500
A Bulgarian construction company that worked as a subcontractor for a German firm on a major construction site in the district of Tuttlingen between January and May 2023 paid below the minimum wage, recorded only the duration of working time rather than its start and end, and did not register the posting. The decisions issued in September 2025, final since the end of 2025, amount to 232,500 EUR – of which 215,000 EUR is disgorgement of the economic benefit and 17,500 EUR is imposed on the managing director (date = publication; exact date of the decision not specified).
General contractors should actively check the minimum wage, working time records and posting notifications of their foreign subcontractors – the economic benefit is disgorged in full.
- Authority / court
- Hauptzollamt Singen (Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Mindestlohngesetz; Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz (Aufzeichnungs- und Meldepflichten)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Construction and real estate
- Liability of senior managers
- Separate fine of 17,500 EUR against the managing director.
- Published
- 9 Jan 2026
- Zeit, Geld, Meldepflicht – Zoll ahndet Verstöße mit sechsstelligem Bußgeld (Hauptzollamt Singen) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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13 Nov 2025 BSG: company car does not replace the minimum wage – additional contribution claims upheld Order
Two employers remunerated part-time workers solely by providing a company car. Germany's Federal Social Court (Bundessozialgericht, BSG) upheld the German pension insurance's claims for additional contributions: the benefit in kind does not satisfy the minimum wage entitlement, and contributions must be paid on the minimum wage owed (B 12 BA 8/24 R, B 12 BA 6/23 R).
Remuneration models involving benefits in kind should be checked for minimum wage compliance before they are introduced – otherwise additional contribution claims going back years may follow.
Minimum wage in money only – benefits in kind in payroll
- Authority / court
- Bundessozialgericht, 12. Senat (Betriebsprüfung: Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- § 1 MiLoG; § 28p SGB IV (Betriebsprüfung)
- Action
- Order
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Published
- 14 Nov 2025
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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28 Mar 2025 Ontario International College Inc.Private college and director: CA$410,000 for ignored orders to pay wages €265,475
The college failed to pay 14 employees wages of almost CA$185,000 and ignored the labour inspectorate's orders to pay from 2019/2020; the director did not pay either. The court imposed CA$270,000 on the company and CA$140,000 on the director, in addition to the outstanding wages.
Outstanding wage claims do not go away – the fine comes on top of the back pay and also hits management personally.
- Authority / court
- Provincial Offences Court Toronto (Ermittlung: Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Employment Standards Act, 2000 (Ontario), ss. 103(8), 106, 132, 136
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Other
- Liability of senior managers
- Director Anchuan Jiang personally fined CA$140,000.
- Published
- 28 May 2025
Original amount 410,000 CAD, converted at the ECB reference rate of 28 Mar 2025.
- Toronto-based Company and Its Director Fined $410,000 for Failure to Pay Wages (Ontario Newsroom, Court Bulletin) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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30 Jan 2024 Vegetable grower cheats harvest workers out of minimum wage: around 500,000 EUR in fines and confiscation €500,000
A vegetable-growing business did not pay harvest workers the collectively agreed minimum wage; the shortfall was just under 300,000 EUR. The investigation was based on interviews conducted with interpreters and the analysis of working time and harvest volume data. Fines of around 200,000 EUR were imposed, and around 300,000 EUR in proceeds of the offence were confiscated in addition (date = publication).
Piece-rate and volume-based pay in seasonal work must reach the minimum wage per hour; deductions for accommodation and work equipment are closely scrutinised.
- Authority / court
- Hauptzollamt Karlsruhe (Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit)
- Area of law
- Health and safety and employment law · Minimum wage and undeclared work
- Legal basis
- Mindestlohn- bzw. Tarifrecht (tariflich bestimmter Mindestlohn); Einziehung des Tatertrags
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Food and agriculture
- Published
- 30 Jan 2024
- Erntehelfer um Mindestlohn betrogen (Hauptzollamt Karlsruhe) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link