Firefighter Overtime Discussing Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for Firefighters, First Responders as well as Human Resource & Finance Professional
On July 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division announced the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program has returned. The PAID program, which we initially covered in March 2018, and again in September 2020, [see coverage below] allows employers an opportunity to determine if their organization is FLSA compliant and rectify any past mistakes while avoiding costly and unpredictable litigation. The program was scrapped in 2021 after a change in presidential administrations. Now, fast forward a few years and the program is back and expanded to include both the FLSA and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
PAID is a voluntary compliance initiative that encourages employers to audit themselves, identify potential violations of overtime or minimum wage (under FLSA) and leave rights (under FMLA), and self-report to the DOL Wage and Hour Division. If the DOL determines mistakes were made, the employer is required to correct any issues by paying 100% of back wages and providing other remedies within 15 days of receiving word from the DOL.
In order to utilize PAID, the organization must not be under investigation or subject to litigation related to wage or leave claims and must not have been found to have violated the FLSA or FMLA within the past three years.
Here is more on PAID from the DOL and FirefighterOvertime.org.
