On April 3, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) released additional information concerning its Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program. The information can be accessed on a PAID portal on the DOL’s website. As you may recall, the PAID program is a pilot program that enables employers to conduct self-audits to assess Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) compliance and voluntarily report violations to the WHD. Assuming certain conditions are met, the WHD will supervise the payment of back wages to employees impacted by the FLSA violation.
The WHD has supplemented the information about participation in the PAID program since it was announced early in March of 2018. The PAID program website includes information for an employer to determine the criteria for participating in the program under a “Determine Your Eligibility” tab, a brief description of compliance assistance materials under a “Review FLSA Compliance Materials” tab, and the required elements of a self-audit under a “Conduct Your FLSA Self-Audit” tab. The site includes more information under tabs entitled “How the PAID Program Works,” “Participating in PAID,” “Payment of Wages,” and “Contact WHD.”
The agency will present a webinar on the PAID program on April 10, 2018, and employers can register for the webinar online.
The WHD is anxious to implement this initiative as a means to bring more employers in compliance with the FLSA and to recover additional back wages due to employees. Employers that are not confident about their compliance with the FLSA should evaluate whether to conduct a self-audit and, depending on the results of an audit, should consider participating in this initiative under appropriate circumstances.
