Revived PAID Program Offers Relief for Employers Self-Reporting Potential FLSA and FMLA Violations

DOL’s Wage and Hour Division is bringing back an updated version of the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program. The PAID program allows an employer to report its inadvertent wage violations and pay them back, with DOL approval, without litigation or penalties. PAID aims to encourage employers to audit their own pay practices and proactively resolve potential claims with faster restitution to employees.

The program does not apply to workers with H-1B, H-2A, or H-2B visas or to employees covered by the Davis-Bacon Act or Service Contract Act.

The original PAID program, implemented by the first Trump Administration, applied only to Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations. The Biden Administration ended that program, fearing that it was too lenient to employers. The second Trump administration announced July 24 that it is reviving the PAID program and expanding it to Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as well as FLSA violations. Of course, these DOL-supervised settlements will not insulate employers from potential litigation under state or local law.

Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.