“I am reluctant to counsel an employer to participate in this program,” Jeff Nowak, shareholder at Littler Mendelson, told HR Dive.

When it first launched in 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Payroll Audit Independent Determination program, or PAID, allowed employers to self-report potential violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The new iteration of the program, launched last year, has been expanded to include the Family and Medical Leave Act, among other laws. Federal regulators touted the program last month as beneficial for both employers and employees, arguing that it enables faster access to back pay and other remedies without the hassle of protracted litigation or enforcement.

Yet, even when PAID first launched years ago, employer-side attorneys questioned the program’s benefit. Specific concerns included the possibility that state regulators or other plaintiffs would sue employers whose participation in PAID was made public.

Experts now raise similar questions with respect to PAID’s FMLA use cases. Jeff Nowak, shareholder at Littler Mendelson and author of “FMLA Insights,” told HR Dive in an email that he is skeptical that the program will be popular with employers for a number of reasons, in part because it’s unclear how DOL might wield its knowledge of an employer’s interest in PAID.

“I am reluctant to counsel an employer to participate in this program,” Nowak said.

What FMLA violations can be resolved through PAID?

Not all employers can participate in...

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