American Payroll Association

The American Payroll Association is a professional organization that focuses on the payroll industry, offering education, training, and certification programs for individuals responsible for processing employee compensation. It provides members with access to up-to-date information on federal and state payroll regulations, tax withholding requirements, and compliance best practices through webinars, conferences, and printed publications. The association also advocates on behalf of payroll professionals before legislative and regulatory bodies to influence policy development. Its services are designed to support practitioners across a wide range of sectors, including private enterprises, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations.

In May 2020, the association disclosed a security incident in which attackers exploited a vulnerability in its content management system to inject malicious scripts onto login and checkout pages of its website, a tactic commonly associated with Magecart skimming campaigns. The breach exposed personal data such as names, email addresses, job titles, company affiliations, physical addresses, payroll software usage details, and, in some cases, social media profile information, along with payment card data. In response, the American Payroll Association patched the underlying vulnerability, enhanced its security monitoring, reset user passwords, and offered affected individuals identity theft protection and credit monitoring services.

The association distinguishes itself through its specialized focus on payroll matters, maintaining two widely recognized credentialing programs—the Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) and the Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC)—that validate expertise in payroll administration and compliance. It also serves as a resource for interpreting complex payroll legislation, offering guidance on topics such as wage and hour laws, garnishment processing, and year‑end reporting. By concentrating exclusively on the payroll function, the organization has developed deep subject‑matter expertise that positions it as a primary source of knowledge for professionals seeking to stay current with evolving regulatory requirements.