Ensuring Workers Get PAID Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Representative Grothman, Glenn [R-WI-6]
In Committee
Summary
Voluntary, self-audit remediation of wage and overtime violations. The bill creates the Payroll Audit Independent Determination program in the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division so employers can identify inadvertent Fair Labor Standards Act violations and offer supervised settlements to affected employees.
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- Employers: Can submit a self-audit application at no cost, propose settlements for unpaid minimum wages or overtime, and must pay agreed amounts to obtain releases of claims. The program limits settlements to violations the employer identifies and generally bars using application materials in other investigations, with narrow health-and-safety exceptions.
- Workers: Affected employees receive a Department-issued release form that explains settlement terms and their right to accept or decline while preserving the ability to sue if they decline. If they accept and are paid in full they waive private suits but gain explicit protection from retaliation tied to PAID offers.
- Department of Labor: The Wage and Hour Division reviews applications, supervises settlements, and must provide compliance resources within 30 days of enactment. The program’s timing is tied to the Portal-to-Portal Act statute of limitations and it provides qualified discovery and confidentiality protections for application information.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Voluntary wage-repayment program for workers
If enacted, this bill would create a Payroll Audit Independent Determination program in the Wage and Hour Division. The program would let employers voluntarily fix unpaid minimum wage or overtime and pay affected employees. Remediation would have to occur within the statute of limitations in section 6(a) of the Portal-to-Portal Act (29 U.S.C. 255(a)). When an application is approved, the Administrator would supervise the settlement and employers would provide releases of claims and waivers of private lawsuits only after full payment. The bill would exclude workers covered by H-1B, H-2B, H-2A visas, the Davis‑Bacon Act, or the Service Contract Act from being "affected employees" for PAID.
New employer steps to fix pay
If enacted, the bill would require employers who want to use the PAID program to submit a detailed application based on a self‑audit. Applications would need a list of each potentially affected employee, affected dates, payroll records showing hours, calculations of unpaid minimum wages or overtime with methodology, and contact information. Employers would have to assure that they corrected violating practices, reviewed program resources, and were not under investigation or in related litigation when they apply. The Administrator would review and may consult on applications, allow amendments, and would approve and supervise settlements within 30 days after submission if verifications, a good‑faith finding, and past‑violation checks pass. The Administrator would also have to make employer compliance resources available online, in print, and through outreach not later than 30 days after enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Grothman, Glenn [R-WI-6]
WI • R
Cosponsors
Rep. Hamadeh, Abraham J. [R-AZ-8]
AZ • R
Sponsored 3/26/2025
Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21]
NY • R
Sponsored 4/7/2025
Messmer
IN • R
Sponsored 11/17/2025
Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24]
NY • R
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Rep. Fine, Randy [R-FL-6]
FL • R
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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