On July 24, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage & Hour Division announced that they would restart the “Payroll Audit Independent Determination” (PAID) program. Several other agencies within DOL also announced the launch or reinstatement of similar programs. 

There is nothing inherently wrong with expanding compliance assistance opportunities for employers or other regulated communities. But the PAID program essentially permits employers who have stolen workers’ wages to confess their violations up front and get out of any penalties scot-free. If an employer proactively notified DOL, through the PAID program, that they had failed to pay minimum wage or overtime, or were taking illegal deductions from workers’ paychecks, then DOL would waive all penalties and liquidated damages.

The PAID program was originally instituted at DOL in 2018, during the first Trump administration. Eleven state attorneys general, led by then–New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, expressed concerns about the PAID program in an April 2018 letter to DOL, including the concern that the program would require workers to waive rights under state law.

Impact: Wage theft is rampant, costing U.S. workers as much as $50 billion each year. Any program that makes it easier for employers to steal workers’ wages, or lowers the financial penalties that could act as a deterrent for wage and hour violations, will hurt U.S. workers and their wages.