📈 Labor force growth crushes expectations

The U.S. economy added 353,000 jobs in January, making 14.8 million jobs since President Biden took office. With the unemployment rate at 3.7%, this continues the longest stretch of the jobless rate staying below 4% in more than 50 years.

• Watch: Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on the economy
• Watch: Chief Economist SJ Glynn on the jobs report

In a Newsweek op-ed, Acting Secretary Su challenged companies to ramp up efforts to protect children from dangerous jobs. “When we go shopping – whether for groceries, gifts, or supplies – we should not have to question if the products were made with illegal child labor,” she wrote.

After workers’ rights were denied at a Goodyear tire plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, the matter was successfully remediated under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism. The company has paid more than 1,300 workers approximately $4 million in back wages, among other actions.

We’ve announced an $85 million funding opportunity to improve job opportunities for young people in communities affected by violence, crime and poverty. The grants will fund education, skills training, supportive services and paid work experience.

Investigators found 63 teens at a Michigan Popeyes franchise working longer and later hours than permitted for 14- and 15-year-olds. A separate investigation found a California Popeyes franchisee hired children as young as 13 and had minors working later and longer than permitted. Investigators also found overtime violations.

We’ve obtained a judgment to recover $100,000 from a Bay Area dentist who unlawfully withdrew more than $85,000 of employees’ retirement money from an employer-sponsored plan and abandoned the plan, preventing two participants from accessing roughly $160,000 in retirement savings.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration released the results of its second 2023 pattern of violations screening to identify mine operators that disregard miners' health and safety, which found that a West Virginia coal mine met the initial POV criteria.

We recovered $460,857 in back wages and damages after investigators found a Houston supermarket failed to pay 104 workers overtime wages.

Michael Baker International Inc. has agreed to pay $122,299 in back wages and interest to resolve alleged pay discrimination against female employees.

Colorado’s new paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, which launched Jan. 1, allows Coloradans to access paid time off when they need it.

The low-wage workers who make the Super Bowl possible are often at risk of wage theft, trafficking and other labor violations. We're staying vigilant in Las Vegas as the big game approaches.

OSHA has cited an Alabama construction employer after an investigation into a 2023 heat illness fatality found the company exposed workers to extreme heat hazards.

Seventy medical professionals were misclassified as independent contractors and denied overtime pay as a result. We recovered $181,531 in back wages and damages for them.

During Black History Month we'll be honoring the many Black Americans throughout our nation's history who have carved paths for workers from all backgrounds to more fully experience the benefits of American society.

Love, labor and a touch of fun! 💕 At the Labor Department, we love work – especially when it’s good for workers. Check out our themed #valentines, download your favorites and share them with your work besties, friends and family.
-@USDOL

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: ‘Where we want to go’: Pittsburgh touted for workforce development by U.S. education, labor secretaries
• Reuters: Mexico Goodyear workers win $4.2 million back pay in US labor rights challenge
• AP: The US didn’t just avoid a recession — it’s adding hundreds of thousands of new jobs
• CT Public Radio: Following death of a CT visiting nurse, US labor secretary calls for better workplace protections
• Community College Daily: A glimpse at how SCCT grants are working