In July 2025, The US Department of Labor (DOL) launched a self-audit initiative across several of its agencies to help employers, union, and pension plans voluntarily assess their compliance with federal regulations and work to close gaps in their programs. The self-audit programs include new and updated offerings to enhance worker protection while reducing the likelihood of formal investigation or litigation. The DOL agencies currently offering new or improved self-audit programs include:
- Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA): offers the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program and the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program
- Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is offering a new Compliance Assistance in Safety and Health program
- Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS): administers the Voluntary Compliance Partnership program for unions
- Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS): launched a new program, SALUTE: Support and Assistance for Leaders in USERRA Training and Employment, to help employers proactively review their policies and practices under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
- Wage and Hour Division: will be restarting the Payroll Audit Independent Determination program to correct issues with FLSA & FMLA
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): will expand its Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) and is increasing its efforts to support voluntary compliance through its On-Site Consultation Program, which offers no-cost and confidential safety and health services to small and medium-sized businesses.
OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) recognize employers and workers in the private industry and federal agencies who have implemented effective safety and health management systems and maintain injury and illness rates below national Bureau of Labor Statistics averages in their industries. The purpose of VPP is for management, labor, and OSHA to work cooperatively and proactively to prevent fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through a system focused on
- Hazard Analysis, Prevention and Control
- Employee Training
- Management Commitment and worker involvement to a culture of safety
To participate, employers must apply to OSHA and undergo a rigorous onsite evaluation by a team of safety and health professionals. If the employer is unionized, then union support is required for applicants represented by a bargaining unit. VPP participants are re-evaluated every three to five years to remain in the programs. VPP participants are exempt from OSHA programmed inspections while they maintain their VPP status. You can visit the OSHA website to find out more.
OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program focuses primarily on smaller businesses, offering a no-cost, confidential consultation from state agencies or universities. It is intended to help employers identify and address hazards, then establish or improve safety and health programs.