The WHD toolkits cover a wide range of topics and industries, including: garment, agriculture, youth employment, restaurants, resorts & hotels, construction, childcare, auto repair & maintenance, government contracts, FLSA basics, FMLA, H‑1B, natural disaster guidance, and a Basic Compliance Toolkit — plus posters and sector‑specific fact sheets listed on the WHD Compliance Assistance Toolkits page.
PAID lets eligible employers self‑audit and voluntarily report potential FLSA and certain FMLA problems to WHD for expedited resolution without civil monetary penalties. Employers must review WHD materials, conduct an audit, identify affected employees and timeframes, calculate back wages or specify FMLA remedies, and submit documentation to WHD; WHD reviews and, if accepted, supervises payments/remedies. The FMLA issues eligible include miscalculating available FMLA leave, incorrectly denying FMLA eligibility, improperly assessing attendance points for FMLA leave, and mischaracterizing FMLA leave as unexcused absence (among others). Remedies must generally be implemented and paid within 15 days; employees may accept or reject PAID offers.
An opinion letter is WHD’s official written response explaining how a wage‑and‑hour law applies to a specific workplace fact pattern. Employers (or others) may request one by emailing WHDOpinionLetters@dol.gov or mailing a signed request to the Division of Regulations, Legislation and Interpretation at the WHD address; requests should describe facts, cite relevant law, confirm the matter is not already under investigation/litigation, and may be published — WHD reviews requests at its discretion.
Using the Workers Owed Wages (WOW) search tool, workers can look up whether the Wage and Hour Division is holding back wages on their behalf (search by name, employer, or case) and, if listed, submit a claim to recover those wages; the tool displays the cases and contact/claim instructions for claiming payments the agency recovered.
Yes. WHD’s FMLA video series is posted on the Department’s site/YouTube and includes captions and transcripts; many DOL materials are also available in Spanish and other languages. For specific language versions or full accessibility features for each video, WHD’s FMLA toolkit and the YouTube posting list available captions/transcript options and language resources.
No. The new compliance assistance resources (toolkits, videos, PAID info, opinion‑letter access) provide guidance and voluntary channels to correct issues but do not create new legal obligations or new enforcement authority; WHD’s underlying enforcement powers and legal obligations remain unchanged. Participation in PAID is voluntary and WHD will not generally impose penalties for employers who proactively participate, though WHD continues to investigate non‑participating employers and enforces the law.