🦎Leaping lizards – we’ve been busy this week!

Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su traveled to Oregon last week to meet with workers who are building the future of America. She visited Springfield first to highlight the benefits of apprenticeship and announce a $200 million department investment in apprenticeship programs in communities across the country. At an IBEW training facility, she heard from the Oregon Tradeswomen about how they’re getting more women into the trades and apprenticeships.

• Read about Acting Secretary Su's trip to Oregon
• Video: Advice from a woman in the trades
• Video: Putting women on the path to good jobs
• Video: Investing in Oregon, and America

Acting Secretary Su welcomed Biden-Harris administration officials, artists, theater workers, labor unions and elected officials to department headquarters this week for a Black History Month event featuring performances and a conversation about creating pathways to good jobs in the arts, particularly for Black workers.

An investigation into a 2023 horrific incident revealed that, for the second time in three years, Phenix Lumber Co. could have prevented a tragedy by following required safety rules. OSHA cited the employer for 22 willful, one repeat and five serious violations, with nearly $2.5 million in proposed penalties, after a longtime employee was fatally injured in a woodchipper. OSHA previously cited the company during a 2020 fatality investigation.

We’ve awarded $6.95 million for a research project by the International Labor Organization to help end child and forced labor and to protect vulnerable workers.

In Japan last week, the Employment and Training Administration’s Brent Parton met with workforce development experts and others to discuss strategies to recruit and retain talent in the high-tech manufacturing sector. 

“Learning from Japan’s proven approach to upskilling and training its workforce in this sector will be invaluable as we build a globally competitive advanced manufacturing base and create good-paying jobs here in the United States,” Parton said.

Acting Secretary Su signed a joint statement with the labor minister of Spain on algorithmic bias to ensure the use of automated technologies supports equity and workers’ rights.

OSHA recently heard from restaurant workers on the ways extreme indoor heat affects their health, safety and livelihood.

We recovered nearly $900,000 in back wages and damages after finding a Virginia home care employer denied 108 workers their hard-earned overtime pay.

MSHA completed impact inspections in January at 15 mines across the country with histories of safety and health violations, finding 188 violations.

While reflecting on Black History Month, our Wage and Hour Division’s Frank McGriggs draws inspiration from leaders who helped improve working conditions for Black workers.

We’re sharing stories from workers who bravely advocated for their rights in the face of wage theft.

Did you know? At the Battle of Blair Mountain, Black miners helped lead the fight to unionize the southern West Virginia coalfields.

Join our March 13 event, in person or virtually, on strengthening women workers’ voices at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

Are you interested in a career helping others? Learn more in this interview with employee Nicole Manning about what it’s like to support workforce development and inclusion here at the Labor Department.

We’ve requested a nationwide temporary restraining order & injunction to stop Fayette Janitorial Service from illegally employing children at meat processing facilities while we continue investigating the company’s labor practices
dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20240221-0
#ChildLabor #LaborLaw #HR
-@USDOL

• CBS News: Tennessee firm hired kids to clean head splitters and other dangerous equipment in meat plants, feds allege
• AP News: Biden administration is highlighting how federal money is being used to boost public safety efforts
• New York Times: Company Hired 24 Minors to Clean Slaughterhouses, Labor Department Says
• OPB: Federal, Oregon leaders vow to break barriers of entry to trade industries
• Hollywood Reporter: How Biden’s Labor Chief Is Thinking About AI’s Threat to Hollywood Workers
• KGW: US labor secretary visits Portland area to talk about the 'Silicon Forest' and job growth