INDIANAPOLIS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $92,326 in back wages and liquidated damages for 18 workers whose employer paid them a fixed weekly rate to stock shelves, serve customers at meat counters and operate cash registers at three LaCanasta Grocery stores in Indianapolis.

Employer:                                      American Pizza Empire LLC

MECHANICSBURG, PA – A Maryland residential framing contractor – cited for 136 willful, repeat, serious and other violations in 20 workplace safety inspections since 2020 – continues to expose its workers to falls from elevation, the construction industry’s most lethal hazard, inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently found.

WASHINGTON – To support the Biden-Harris administration’s progress in advancing environmental justice, the U.S. Department of Labor has added programs to the Justice40 initiative. The Justice40 initiative aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of climate, clean energy, training and workforce development, and other federal investments to disadvantaged communities.

In the week ending August 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 250,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 10,000 from 262,000 to 252,000. The 4-week moving average was 246,750, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 2,500 from 252,000 to 249,500.

PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently launched a regional initiative in three Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia in an effort to protect workers and reduce injuries and illnesses in the warehousing, storage and distribution yards’ industries.

WASHINGTON – Representing the U.S. government, the Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative applauded efforts by the government of Mexico to resolve a Rapid Response Mechanism petition concerning workers’ rights at the Teksid Hierro de México automotive parts manufacturing facility in  Coahuila, Mexico.

WASHINGTON – On Aug. 16, 1937, the nation took a historic step toward formalizing standards for Registered Apprenticeships, including those related to their safety and health and to prevent many forms of discrimination toward workers in training.

PHOENIX – A 30-year-old worker succumbed to injuries after an incident at the Rawhide Western Town and Steakhouse at the Gila River Indian Community near Chandler. A federal investigation determined the fatality could have been prevented if the employer had implemented required safety measures.

WASHINGTON – A joint communication by nine agencies within the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and the Social Security Administration encourages state and local governments throughout the nation to blend, braid and sequence funding to maximize resources proactively and improve Competitive Integrated Employment outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Su today met with Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi and other workforce leaders and stakeholders to discuss how the department can align systems, strengthen partnerships and leverage resources to connect workers to good jobs in critical in-demand industries.

FREMONT, OH – A federal workplace safety investigation into how a 25-year-old manufacturing worker suffered serious arm burns in February that required hospitalization, determined his Ohio employer failed to follow required federal safety standards that might have prevented the incident.

DALLAS – Despite a history of violations and worker injuries dating back almost a decade, Fiesta Mart LLC – a Houston-based supermarket operator – continues to fail in its legal obligations to protect employees. Made apparent after federal inspections in February and May 2022 determined two butchers suffered amputation injuries due to unguarded machinery.  

ANN ARBOR, MI –The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to establish a formal partnership to enforce workers’ rights, conduct joint investigations and outreach efforts, and share information.

PERRY, OH – An Ohio nursery owner’s history of violations, coupled with allegations that they intimidated and threatened workers, and denied them their full wages, has led the U.S. Department of Labor to assess $76,278, in penalties and to debar the Perry employer from participating in the federal agricultural visa program for three years.

GUAYNABO, PR – Mientras 62 empleados en dos centros de cuidados paliativos de Puerto Rico brindaban servicios esenciales para que los pacientes terminales y sus familias se sintieran cómodos, el Departamento de Trabajo de los Estados Unidos realizó una investigación y descubrió que las prácticas salariales de sus empleadores perjudicaban la capacidad de los empleados de cuidar de sí mismos y de sus familias.

GUAYNABO, PR – While 62 employees at two hospice care centers in Puerto Rico provided vital services to comfort terminally ill people and their families, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found their employer’s pay practices hurt their ability to care for themselves and their families.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor is offering online compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders on the requirements governing payment of prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

ATLANTA – When federal workplace safety inspectors visited three Dollar General stores in Georgia earlier this year, they found exit routes obstructed, boxes of merchandise stacked unsafely and electrical panels hard to access, violations often cited at Dollar General locations.

ORLANDO, FL – Investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor of 11 central Florida heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractors have recovered more than $113,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 169 workers whose employers’ illegal pay practices denied them their full wages.