Testimonials About PAID

The PAID program worked exactly as designed. A conscientious employer identified a mistake, wanted to correct it, and had a mechanism to do the right thing without being penalized for its honesty and without years of expensive litigation and exposure to pay legal fees. We were able to work constructively with WHD to solve a problem and to do it in a collaborative manner. The result was exactly as intended: the mistake was fixed, the impacted employees were made whole, and the matter was resolved without unnecessary litigation and acrimony.

Mr. Haller, Employer Representative, Manufacturing Industry

Receiving back wages was definitely a pleasant surprise. I was not expecting a check at all and then it was like a large sum of money fell in my lap. PAID was a very good experience for me. Receiving the unexpected money is giving me a chance to better my life.

Mr. Tate, Employee, Non-Profit

I had a very good and smooth experience with the Department of Labor’s PAID self-audit program. Not only were we able to make the corrections we needed to make, but I now feel very confident that we are absolutely doing things right. We are very small agency and, as such, we don’t have a Human Resources Department – I wear many hats including the HR piece. With the PAID program, it was very helpful to be assigned to a human being, who could assist me through the process and also answer any questions I had. The investigator was very personable and that made it easy to pick up the phone and talk through my questions.

The other thing that was very helpful was to receive the documentation that was provided. I had done a lot of work ahead of time to prepare. But once I applied and the Investigator was assigned to help me, she walked me through each step of the process and then provided me with the right forms to pay the workers with. It felt like a very easy process and I didn’t have to try to fix things alone, but I had the help of the Department of Labor to make sure it was completed correctly.

I know some people might feel frightened to contact the Department of Labor with a problem, but I saw it as an opportunity to learn and make sure we were doing things right. The Investigator took the time to explain everything and help me understand how to properly calculate ½ time based upon the Regular Rate for overtime hours. The help I received during the PAID program is having a ripple effect – I was able to share the information I learned with my payroll company. The payroll company didn’t really understand the proper way to compute overtime, which was my biggest difficulty of the entire experience. But once I was able to explain what I had learned from the Department of Labor, my payroll company was able to adjust how they were doing things, and now they will be better equipped to help other employers know how to properly calculate overtime. I would say that my experience with the Department of Labor’s PAID program was an awesome experience because not only was I able to make the corrections I needed to make, I also learned a lot and was also able to pass along what I learned to others. I would definitely recommend the PAID self-audit program to other employers.

Ms. Alonso, Employer, Local Government

Upon my client discovering that it had a back pay exposure under the Fair Labor Standards Act, it wanted to take immediate steps to properly pay its employees what was owed, and to mitigate its legal exposure. We were pleased to learn about the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division’s PAID program, and believed that it was the appropriate vehicle to achieve my client’s goals. Upon contacting the WHD, we were immediately assigned to an investigator, who provided us with a very detailed explanation of the steps we needed to take to apply for participation in PAID. The WHD quickly approved our application for participation and worked with us to efficiently pinpoint the back pay issues involved and the steps necessary to resolve the matter. We have found through this experience that the PAID program was an excellent option to meet my client’s needs.

Mr. Entin, Employer Representative, Real Estate Industry

Before this self-audit, I was always doing paperwork on my own time and doing extra travel on my own dime. Now my employer has corrected that and I am being paid for all of it. The back wage check came at very crucial time for me.

Ms. Hamel, Employee, Non-Profit

I think everything went pretty smoothly and was easy. WHD and the investigator have been very nice to work with.

Mr. Snyder and Mr. Drake, Employers, Retail Industry

I thought it was great my employer participated in the PAID self-audit program so that we could get back wages. It was nice to get the money that was owed to us and not have to fight for it. Prior to the PAID self-audit, I did a lot of driving for work and not get paid for it. Now they pay me for driving, which makes a big difference. Receiving the money was very helpful and made me feel appreciated.

Ms. Prim, Employee, Non-Profit

The experience I had with the staff and the program more than exceeded my expectations. The staff worked with me and my agency in helping to ease the stress of getting the proper paperwork returned and the issue settled with our employees. The program afforded us the opportunity to make a historical wrong a right. The staff answered questions and worked tirelessly to ensure that my team and I understood the process. I am amazed at the level of professionalism of the staff and their support during this very difficult time. The employees from my agency were extremely excited to see that a timely decision was made, for which the PAID program offers. I am much more educated on labor law requirements, which helps to prevent any future complaints. The WHD Staff helped me and this county in ways that we will never be able to repay them. They were with me from start to finish. I will never be able to repay them for their help with this process. I recommend the PAID program to anyone that is willing to do the right thing by their employees. The process is quick and less expensive than going through a formal legal process. The PAID program gave us the opportunity to do our own internal assessment and although a lot of work was put in to the evaluation part, I was grateful for the opportunity. This program is necessary and need to stay as an option for employees.

Dr. Wright, Employer, Local Government

Our overall experience with the PAID program is that it’s been great, it’s been fairly easy. It was so much easier than we anticipated and expected.

Ms. Glasgow, Employer, Health Care Industry

This is a win-win opportunity for employers, employees and the DOL. The experience has changed our view of the DOL...We can seek guidance on any wage and hour concern we may have.

Ms. Dragon, Employer, Non-Profit

[translated from Spanish] About two weeks ago the girl from Human Resources came to the job and she gave me a check for $500.00 and she explained to me that the company did an audit and it came out that they owed me this money. What the company did was fair, we work hard to earn money, and them doing this is very good. The extra money is always good and it provides some help.

Ms. Sanchez, Employee, Real Estate Industry

I had a great experience working with WHD in dealing with this matter. The overall experience was great. It was easy to follow the instructions and directions and the process was faster than I expected. The materials used were great and easy to follow. The ability to email back and forth saved a lot of time, having that ability to communicate via email made the process easy. At first, I thought it would be a long process. But to my surprise it wasn’t.

Ms. Walls, Employer, Engineering Industry

When I read about PAID, based on my prior experience as an employment defense attorney, I was hesitant, thinking that that the DOL was not going to be helpful or that we would be penalized in some way. I was wrong! The PAID program is exactly as described.After learning about a compensation error and wanting to make it right, we now had a way to do it without judgment, penalties, and expensive litigation. The WHD investigator was approachable and easy to work with, helping to make sure we calculated back wages properly, drafting the release paperwork, and following up to make sure we complied with the requirements of the program. It really was a seamless process and a win-win-win for everyone involved!

Mrs. Kwiatek, Employer, Healthcare Industry