DOL’s PAID program can help resolve FLSA, FMLA issues without litigation

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) offers the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program as a voluntary pathway for employers to self-identify and resolve certain wage-and-hour and leave issues under federal law. Under PAID, employers can work with WHD to correct potential minimum wage, overtime, and tip-retention issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and certain leave-related issues under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), while ensuring affected employees receive 100% of back wages or other remedies promptly—often without litigation.

What is the PAID program?

PAID is a WHD-supervised process that encourages employers to conduct a careful internal review of pay and/or leave practices, self-report potential violations, and then work in good faith with the WHD to determine what is owed and to make employees whole. The WHD’s program materials emphasize prompt remediation and future compliance.

PAID isn’t designed for disputes that are already in litigation or under active government investigation. Instead, it’s aimed at proactive resolution of potential issues identified through a self-audit.

The DOL relaunched PAID in July 2025 as part of a broader set of “self-audit” initiatives intended to encourage good-faith compliance with the laws the department enforces.

What types of issues can PAID address?

The WHD describes PAID as a mechanism to resolve the following types of potential violations: