January 9, 2023

Once a wage theft victim, Portland restaurant employer denied workers overtime, stole tips, altered records, say federal investigators

PORTLAND, OR – In 2018, Miguel Chi-dzul fell victim to wage theft and U.S. Department of Labor investigators determined that his then-employer routinely altered time records to hide the fact that he wasn’t paid for all hours worked, including overtime wages. The investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division recouped $831 in back overtime wages for him as part of its $14,758 recovery for four workers. 

January 6, 2023

Statement by US Secretary of Labor Walsh on December Jobs Report

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on the December 2022 Employment Situation Report:

“Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 223,000 jobs in the month of December, and the unemployment rate fell to a historically low 3.5 percent while more people entered the workforce.

January 5, 2023

El Departamento de Trabajo recupera $55,000 en salarios atrasados para 7 trabajadores después de que un restaurante de Durham no pagara las horas extras y negara las propinas que dejaban los clientes

Empleador:                            Kandible Inc., que opera como Indian Monsoon

Lugar de investigación:        105 W. Morgan St.

January 5, 2023

Charleston trampoline park pays $11K penalty after allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work outside legally permitted hours

Employer:  SC1 Summit LLC – operating as Summit Adventure Park Charleston

Investigation site: 1964 Ashley River Road, Charleston, SC 29407

January 5, 2023

US Department of Labor recovers $55K in back wages for 7 workers after Durham restaurant fails to pay overtime, denies tips left by customers

Employer:  Kandible Inc., operating as Indian Monsoon

Investigation site: 105 W. Morgan St., Durham, NC 27701

January 5, 2023

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending December 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 204,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 2,000 from 225,000 to 223,000. The 4-week moving average was 213,750, a decrease of 6,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 500 from 221,000 to 220,500.

January 4, 2023

US Department of Labor investigation of fatal equipment rollover incident finds Texas fencing contractor exposed workers to deadly safety hazards

LUBBOCK, TX – A federal workplace safety investigation into how a 15-year-old worker tragically suffered fatal injuries while installing fencing in Guthrie has found the employer failed to follow required workplace safety standards.

January 4, 2023

US Department of Labor renews ‘Star’ designation of Millstone Power Station for workplace safety, health achievements

Participant:   Millstone Power Station, Waterford, Connecticut.

January 3, 2023

Readout: Secretary Walsh meets with truckers, companies, Teamsters union, officials at Port of Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES – Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Su today hosted a roundtable discussion at the Port of Los Angeles about the benefits of having a collective bargaining relationship between truck drivers and employers at the port.  

January 3, 2023

Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. recupera $1.6M para 83 trabajadores de restaurantes de Los Ángeles cuyo empleador les negó pago por horas extra

LOS ANGELES – El Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. recuperó $1,651,550 en salarios atrasados y compensación por daños del propietario de siete restaurantes de Los Ángeles que negó a 83 trabajadores el pago por horas extras y mantuvo registros falsos para tratar de ocultar el robo de salarios.

January 3, 2023

US Labor Department recovers $1.6M for 83 restaurant workers whose Los Angeles employer denied them overtime pay; tried to hide wage theft

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $1,651,550 in back wages and liquidated damages from the owner of seven Los Angeles restaurants who denied 83 workers overtime wages and kept false pay records in an attempt to hide the wage theft.

January 3, 2023

Arby’s franchisee allows teens to work outside of federally allowed limits at 9 South Carolina locations, federal investigation finds

COLUMBIA, SC What began as a child labor investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor at one Arby’s restaurant location in Laurens, expanded to include other restaurants operated by the same business operator who was found to be allowing 65 minor-aged employees to work outside of federally allowed work hours.  

December 29, 2022

US Department of Labor urges employers to enhance workplace safety measures, protect workers from crane hazards following fatality in Guam

DEDEDO, GUAM – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is urging employers in Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands to enhance safety measures to protect workers against crane hazards following a Nov. 25, 2022 crane-related death at the Port Authority of Guam. The incident is currently under investigation.  

December 29, 2022

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending December 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 225,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 216,000. The 4-week moving average was 221,000, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 500 from 221,750 to 221,250.

December 28, 2022

US Department of Labor awards $3M grant to support sugarcane workers in Dominican Republic

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $3 million cooperative agreement project to Impactt Limited to increase the capacity of field workers and their families to advocate and organize for the improvement of working and living conditions in the Dominican Republic sugar industry.

December 22, 2022

US Department of Labor finds Texas construction company willfully exposed workers to deadly hazards after trench collapse kills two workers

AUSTIN, TX – A federal investigation has determined that by failing to follow required workplace safety standards, a Georgetown construction contractor gave two workers installing sewer lines in an underground trench – more than two stories deep – little chance of survival when a large section of the excavation collapsed, crushing them under thousands of pounds of soil and rocks.

December 22, 2022

US Department of Labor cites Frisco utility contractor for willful exposure to deadly safety hazards after fatal trench collapse

DALLAS – A federal investigation has determined that a Frisco utility contractor failed to follow required workplace safety standards when it allowed two workers to enter a trench with no protection system. The workers were digging the trench to repair a main sewer line. The trench collapsed and fatally engulfed one employee. The second worker was fortunate to escape.

December 22, 2022

Administrative law judge upholds OSHA citations and penalties to Vermont-based telecommunications contractor in employee’s death

NEW YORK – An administrative law judge with the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has affirmed U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations and $24,290 in penalties issued to Eustis Cable Enterprises Ltd., a Brookfield, Vermont, telecommunications contractor, following the death of an employee at an Andover, New York, worksite.