On January 29, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it was immediately
ending its Payroll Audit Independent Determination program, which was launched by
the department’s Wage and Hour Division in 2018. The program allowed employers to
self-report federal minimum wage and overtime violations under the Fair Labor
Standards Act in order to avoid litigation, penalties or damages, and prohibited affected
workers from taking any private action on the identified violations.
In eliminating the program, Wage and Hour Division Principal Deputy Administrator
Jessica Looman stated: “Workers are entitled to every penny they have earned” and
“[t]he Payroll Audit Independent Determination program deprived workers of their rights
and put employers that play by the rules at a disadvantage.”
For more information: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20210129
