WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the opening of the public comment period for its proposed rule intended to protect millions of workers from the significant health risks of extreme heat and its publication in the Federal Register. 

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement to mark Labor Day 2024: 

“Each Labor Day, our nation honors the hardworking people whose dedication and sacrifice helped build this great nation. Workers who - with the support of organized labor - fought for fair wages and benefits, safer working conditions, and the dignity and respect every worker deserves. 

Employer:      UMS Heavy Equipment Rental Inc.

                             3415 Maimai Road

Employer:      

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections at 16 mines in 10 states in July 2024, issuing 239 violations and one safeguard.

The agency began conducting impact inspections after an April 2010 explosion in West Virginia at the Upper Big Branch Mine killed 29 miners.

In the week ending August 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 231,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 232,000 to 233,000. The 4-week moving average was 231,500, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 236,000 to 236,250.

WASHINGTON –Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro visited Virginia today to see how the Apprentice School in Newport News – one of the nation’s critical apprenticeship programs – is making construction of one of the world’s most capable and adaptable aircraft carriers, the PCU John F. Kennedy, possible.

During their visit, Secretaries Su and Del Toro highlighted their shared commitment to strengthening the Department of Defense’s organic and industrial base workforce. 

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal consent judgment permanently prohibiting two Astoria discount stores and their owners and manager from threatening workers and obstructing investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission today signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen competition by better coordinating information used by antitrust agencies to evaluate potential impacts of mergers and acquisitions on labor markets.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court judgment requiring 15 gas stations - operating under brands such as BP, Mobil and Sunoco - in Bronx, Nassau and Suffolk counties and their owner and president to pay more than $1 million in back wages and liquidated damages to more than 100 current and former employees in response to a federal investigation. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an initial $800,000 emergency grant award to help fund Georgia’s cleanup and recovery activities in 33 counties following Hurricane Debby. The grant will also enable the state to provide employment and training services to people in the affected communities.

DALLAS – Los cantineros de dos restaurantes del área de Dallas que dependen de buenas propinas a cambio de un excelente servicio recuperarán $197,902 en ganancias después de que investigadores federales descubrieron que el dueño y operador de los establecimientos los obligó ilegalmente a compartir propinas con empleados que no recibían propinas.

DALLAS – Bartenders at two Dallas-area restaurants who depend on good tips in return for great service will recoup $197,902 in earnings after federal investigators found the establishments’ owner and operator forced them to share tips with non-tipped employees illegally.

MANCHESTER, NH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s investigation of a Bristol restaurant identified 20 child labor violations, including allowing a 15-year-old to use a blowtorch for food preparation and another 15-year-old to clean a meat slicer.

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor is trying to connect 28 former employees of a Cordele home healthcare company with their share of $65,944 in back wages and liquidated damages recovered after an investigation found the employer denied them overtime wages they earned.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor and the Office of the Trade Representative today announced the successful resolution of a U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement Rapid Response Labor Mechanism matter, following allegations of labor rights violations at the Volkswagen assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico. 

LUBBOCK, TX – Many people who work in the restaurant industry depend on tips in exchange for good service which, like quality food at fair prices, can bring customers back and allow their employer to succeed. Despite the need for good service, the U.S. Department of Labor too often finds restaurant employers, including three businesses in Lamesa and Lubbock, withholding tips that legally belong to the people who earned them.

WASHINGTON – As the nation begins Labor Rights Week, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Republic of Colombia today announced the South American country has joined the Consular Partnership Program to raise awareness among Colombians working in the U.S. about regulations protecting them in America’s workplaces. 

CHICAGO ‒ Federal safety inspectors became aware that a 31-year-old employee of a Chicago countertop manufacturer needed a double lung transplant after suffering accelerated silicosis ‒ an incurable lung disease – and the U.S. Department of Labor immediately alerted the company of the potential imminent danger and an inspection by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found workers exposed to silica levels up to six times greater than permissible limits. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an initial award of $2.8 million to California in dislocated worker grant funding to support cleanup and recovery activities in eight counties in response to severe winter storms the state experienced between Jan. 31, 2024, and Feb. 9, 2024.

The storms caused river and urban flooding, mud and landslides, sinkhole formations, downed trees and damaged roadways, bridges and levee systems, as well as damage to public and private lands.