DOL's PAID Program Nets 7,500 Employees Back Wages

Since its launch as a trial initiative in April 2018, the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program of the Department of Labor (DOL) has witnessed 74 employers voluntarily step forward to award back wages to some 7,500 employees to the tune of $4 million. PAID is an employer self-audit program. If a company audit turns up unpaid wages or overtime, the company can enter into the PAID program, where Wage and Hour Division (WHD) staff will help arrange repayment. The division claims that program takes half the time and staffing resources of other compliance actions but yields ten times the back wages for employees per staff hour. Critics from the start have derided the program as a vehicle for employers to weasel out of potential fines and other expenses and punishments. Proponents, however, see it as a more expeditious and less onerous process for resolving wage-and-hour issues.