How self-audits help build a culture of compliance and trust

At the U.S. Department of Labor, we are committed to helping employers, unions, and plan administrators follow the law. That’s why I’m proud to announce the launch of our expanded self-audit compliance assistance initiative.

Many of our agencies offer self-audit programs, which are voluntary tools to help the regulated community proactively assess and improve compliance with the labor laws we enforce. If you run a small business, administer an employee benefit plan, represent a labor organization, or lead workplace safety and health efforts, our self-audit tools can guide you in building safer, fairer, and more transparent workplaces.

Self-audits enable you to identify and fix potential violations, reduce the likelihood of litigation, and demonstrate a good-faith commitment to following the law. They also help ensure that workers get the protections and benefits they are entitled to — like timely wages, fair and safe working conditions, and benefits security.

Here’s how our agencies are rolling out these efforts:

• The Wage and Hour Division is relaunching and expanding the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (or PAID) program, which allows employers to resolve minimum wage, overtime, and leave violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Family and Medical Leave Act, ensuring workers receive back wages quickly.
• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues to offer its On-Site Consultation Program, a no-cost, confidential service for small businesses. OSHA also supports ongoing compliance through its Voluntary Protection Programs, which recognizes employers with exemplary safety and health practices.
• The Employee Benefits Security Administration provides two powerful self-correction programs: the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program for fixing fiduciary violations and prohibited transactions, and the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program for catching up on overdue benefit plan filings.
• The Mine Safety and Health Administration’s new Compliance Assistance in Safety and Health (CASH) program features resources available to mining operations via an information hub on the MSHA.gov website. This hub provides links to a variety of safety and health topics to assist mining operations and provides direct contact to safety and health specialists to address their needs related to compliance assistance.
• The Veterans’ Employment and Training Service is launching the SALUTE: Support and Assistance for Leaders in USERRA Training and Employment program, giving employers a proactive way to ensure their policies comply with service members’ employment and reemployment rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
• The Office of Labor-Management Standards maintains a Voluntary Compliance Partnership program to help unions and their affiliates assess compliance with the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, including reporting and disclosure requirements and financial integrity.

These programs offer a path to build relationships rooted in trust and accountability. By working together, we are not only protecting our workers, but we are also ensuring a stronger and more prosperous economy.

I encourage you to explore our new online hub at dol.gov/SelfAudit, where you’ll find agency-specific tools, templates, and guidance.

Keith Sonderling is the Deputy Secretary of Labor. Follow him on X, Instagram and LinkedIn.