Labor Department to Test Voluntary Reporting for Wage Violators

A six-month national pilot program announced by the Labor Department will allow employers who have violated minimum-wage and overtime statutes to voluntarily disclose those infractions to the federal government and avoid civil penalties, reports the Wall Street Journal . The program seeks to encourage employers to audit their records to look for potential violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, with violators having to pay workers the wages they are owed to skip fines and possibly avoid lawsuits. "If an employer comes forward and says 'I made a mistake,' we should make it simple to pay up," said Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta at a congressional hearing. He also said the pilot "will help ensure employees receive back wages they are owed, faster," as employees would be paid shortly after violations are found, and not have to wait for the results of department probes or litigation. The Department of Labor noted if employees accept the payment of back wages, they would waive their right to sue their employer for the specific violation. The department wants to use the pilot to assess the amount of wages due and administer payment to employees, without requiring payment of additional damages or civil monetary fines when employers proactively address the compensation practices that caused the infractions. "It's a get out of jail free card for employers," warns the National Employment Law Project's Judy Conti, who calls the pilot an attempt by the Trump administration to "stack the deck in favor of employers."