September 19, 2023

US Department of Labor recovers more than $120K in back wages, damages after 2 South Carolina plumbing employers deny overtime to workers

Employers:    

Hill Plumbing & Electric Co. Inc., operating as Hill Plumbing & Air, 438 North Main St., Sumter, SC 29150

Love Plumbing Electrical and Air LLC, 1336 Methodist Park Road, West Columbia, SC 29170

September 19, 2023

READOUT: Department of Labor inducts El Monte Thai Garment Workers, once enslaved in California sweatshop, to its Hall of Honor

WASHINGTON – Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su and the Department of Labor has inducted a group of Thai garment workers who helped expose their former employer’s abusive labor practices in 1995 into the department’s Hall of Honor. The group, who spurred changes in legal protections for workers nationwide, were honored at a ceremony held on Sept. 18, 2023, at the department’s Washington headquarters.

September 19, 2023

US Department of Labor files lawsuit alleging wage violations at 3 Barrio Tacos locations, seeks $823K in back wages, damages for 177 workers

Employers:    Sparty Tacos LLC

                        TC Tacos LLC

                        GR Tacos LLC, operating as Barrio Tacos

                        Owner Jacob Hawley

September 19, 2023

US Department of Labor awards $1M grant to Massachusetts to provide jobs, workforce training in Berkshire County communities affected by opioid crisis

WASHINGTON – With opioid abuse responsible for about four deaths each day in Massachusetts, the commonwealth cites the epidemic as its greatest public health threat. To help address the crisis, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of more than $1 million in funding for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development to address the impact of the opioid crisis on the local workforce in Berkshire County.

September 18, 2023

Department of Labor encourages heavy, highway construction industries to join survey to set prevailing wage rates in Arizona

PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor is asking employers in Arizona’s heavy and highway construction industries to participate in a survey to help the department’s Wage and Hour Division establish prevailing wage rates for construction workers employed on federally funded and federally assisted projects.

September 18, 2023

US Department of Labor, Lamar Advertising Co. form alliance to promote workplace safety, prevent exposure to hazards

Who:            U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

September 18, 2023

Federal investigators find Texas poultry processor endangered line workers by ignoring ergonomic, unguarded machinery hazards

AUSTIN, TX – A workplace safety investigation found that a Nixon poultry processor exposed employees to ergonomic hazards, a common industry safety concern and the cause of many injuries to its workers. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates about 50 percent of injuries and illnesses in the poultry processing industry involve musculoskeletal disorders.

September 18, 2023

El Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. descubre que el administrador de un centro turístico de Palm Coast se negó a brindar un espacio privado a sus empleadas para extraerse la leche para los recién nacidos, como lo exige la ley federal

PALM COAST, FL – El Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. determinó que un centro turístico y spa de Palm Coast violó las leyes federales que exigen a los empleadores brindar adaptaciones en el lugar de trabajo para las trabajadoras que necesitan extraerse leche materna para sus bebés, en particular un lugar designado para que puedan extraerse la leche de forma privada.

September 18, 2023

US Department of Labor awards $992K to Washington state to support employment, training services to respond to opioid crisis

WASHINGTON – Amid a sharp national increase in opioid overdoses, Washington state has also experienced significant increases in opioid-related drug overdose deaths, as deaths nearly doubled from 827 in 2019 to 1,619 in 2021. To help address the crisis, the U.S.

September 18, 2023

US Department of Labor awards initial $6.6M to Florida to support disaster-related employment, other assistance in Hurricane Idalia’s wake

WASHINGTON – On Aug. 30, 2023, Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 storm along the northeastern Gulf Coast, bringing high winds, storm surges and massive flooding to Florida and the region. To support disaster-relief jobs and employment and training services as the state recovers from the impacts, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced an initial award of more than $6.6 million to assist people in 33 counties.

September 18, 2023

US Department of Labor finds Palm Coast resort operator denied employee private space to express milk for newborn, as federal law requires

PALM COAST, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor determined that a Palm Coast resort and spa violated federal laws requiring employers to provide workplace accommodations for workers who need to pump breast milk for their infants, particularly a designated place for them to express milk privately. Additionally, the employer violated federal child labor laws, employing children between the ages of 14 and 15 to work longer than federal law permits.

September 15, 2023

Department of Labor investigation finds grain silo operator failed to provide required safety training, follow proper procedures in deadly engulfment

COLQUITT, GA A federal investigation into how a 59-year-old worker at a Colquitt grain silo became engulfed and suffocated in April 2023 found the operator could have prevented the fatality by following required grain-handling safety regulations.

September 14, 2023

El Departamento de Trabajo de Estados Unidos recupera $17,000 en salarios atrasados del restaurante Hixson que negó la tarifa correcta de horas extras de 5 trabajadores

HIXSON, TN- Una investigación del Departamento de Trabajo de los Estados Unidos ha permitido recuperar $17,006 para cinco trabajadores de un restaurante de Hixson que no les pagó sus salarios de horas extras. 

September 14, 2023

US Department of Labor announces $57.2M in grants to 12 states to help prepare unemployed, underemployed people for high-quality jobs in expanding industries

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of more than $57 million in grants to support projects in 12 states that support unemployed and underemployed people to access, return to, or advance in high-quality jobs in infrastructure, environment and climate, the care economy and other critical and growing industries. 

September 14, 2023

US Department of Labor awards $2M to Cornell University to help develop policy promoting workforce inclusion for people with disabilities

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Office of Disability Employment Policy has awarded $2 million in funds to Cornell University to operate an employer-focused, disability policy development and technical assistance center.

September 14, 2023

Department of Labor finds Tamuning contractor endangered employees installing a sewer line in a Mangilao trench, despite knowing the risks

DEDEDO, GUAM ‒ Two weeks after federal workplace safety inspectors warned the operator of a Tamuning construction company of hazardous conditions facing employees working in an excavation, they returned to find the company again exposing workers to potentially deadly trench hazards as they installed a sewer line at the Paradise Court subdivision in Mangilao. 

September 14, 2023

US Department of Labor recovers $17K in back wages from Hixson restaurant that denied 5 workers correct overtime

HIXSON, TN – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has led to the recovery of $17,006 for five workers of a Hixson restaurant that failed to pay them their correct overtime wages. 

September 14, 2023

Millersburg contractor faces more than $548K in fines for repeatedly failing to protect roofing employees from exposure to deadly fall hazards

MILLERSBURG, OH – On four occasions in less than three months in 2023, U.S. Department of Labor inspectors observed a Millersburg roofing contractor again exposing workers to deadly fall hazards of up to 19 feet at four residential roofing job sites in Canton, Uniontown and Westlake, despite having fall protection equipment available on site. 

September 14, 2023

US Department of Labor awards $44M to support job training, services for workers in Appalachian, lower Mississippi Delta, Northern Border regions

ASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today – in partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission, Delta Regional Authority and Northern Border Regional Commission – more than $44 million in awards to provide career training and supportive services to help workers in these areas secure good jobs in stable, high-demand occupations. 

September 14, 2023

US Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announce partnership agreement to enhance outreach, enforcement

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced today that the department’s Wage and Hour Division and the EEOC signed a formal partnership that will enhance and maximize the enforcement of federal laws and regulations.