DOL Creates New PAID Program to Help Employers Resolve Wage and Hour Issues

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) has announced its new six-month pilot program to help employers and employees quickly resolve Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLSA) wage and hour issues. This program covers potential violations of the FLSA’s overtime and minimum wage requirements.

The program, Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID), gives employers the opportunity to self-audit, identify violations and employees affected, determine back pay owed, and contact the DOL for approval. After this, the employer will need to prove how the audit was performed and validate its accuracy. Also, the employer must agree not to repeat the violations again.

All FLSA-covered employers are eligible to participate in the pilot. However, employers with active audit and litigation, threats of litigation or history of violations are not able to participate in the program.

Prior to PAID, employers who identified wage and hour violations corrected them with the risk of FLSA violation claims from the government. However, under the new program, the DOL will require employees who receive payment to waive their FLSA rights for the violations corrected.

Employees can choose whether to waive their rights. If the employee’s rights are waived, the DOL will not fine the employer double the amount due or any penalties.