§1041 Enforcement Provisions

Summary

Imposes penalties for breaking the egg rules and for attacking officials. If someone is convicted of an offense under section 1037, they can go to jail up to 1 year, be fined up to $5,000, or both. If the crime involved intent to defraud or selling a known-adulterated product, the jail time can be up to 3 years and the fine up to $10,000, or both. Anyone who assaults, stops, or interferes with an official doing their job can be fined up to $5,000, jailed up to 3 years, or both. Using a deadly weapon in such an act raises the penalty to a fine up to $10,000 or jail up to 10 years. Killing an official is punished under federal murder and manslaughter law (18 U.S.C. 1111 and 1112). For non-criminal rule breaks, the Secretary can order civil fines up to $5,000 for each violation. People must get notice and a hearing under 5 U.S.C. 554 and 556. The Secretary issues a written order that considers how serious the violation was, blame, and past offenses. A person has 30 days after the order to ask a U.S. court of appeals to review it. If a final penalty is not paid, the Attorney General will sue to collect it in federal district court, and collected money goes to the U.S. Treasury. The Secretary may reduce or cancel penalties. Employers are responsible for acts their workers do on the job. Carriers and warehousemen are normally not penalized for handling others’ eggs unless they knew the eggs were ineligible or refuse to give the sender’s name and delivery papers to a Secretary representative; penalties under section 1040 or the civil-penalty rules may still apply.