On May 9, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) titled “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations,” which discourages federal agencies from seeking criminal enforcement of laws and regulations on the books. In most cases, criminal charges are typically only pursued by federal agencies in serious cases of willful, repeat, or dangerous violations of laws. This could include polluting corporations who knowingly break environmental laws, bosses who falsify records to hide safety violations that lead to serious worker deaths and injuries, or the leadership of companies that engage in serious instances of wage theft or labor trafficking.   

Despite these important uses, criminal enforcement of regulations is already only used by the federal government in limited circumstances involving serious violations. This contrasts with the language in the EO, which seems to imply that regulators are supposedly lurking around every corner looking to imprison people for not complying with red tape. The EO also specifically exempts regulations related to immigration and national security from this directive to avoid criminal enforcement. 

Impact: This EO is unlikely to have a significant impact. The order does not take away the federal government’s authority to seek criminal charges, and definitions of federal crimes are established by Congress, not by federal agencies or regulations. The order could be interpreted as an attempt to create the perception of further progress on the administration’s deregulatory agenda, without a real change in policy. However, this EO could provide cover for an agency’s decision to not pursue more serious consequences for a violator’s actions, as civil penalties alone, usually financial, are not a sufficient deterrent for corporations who are bad actors.