June 22, 2023

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending June 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 264,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 262,000 to 264,000. The 4-week moving average was 255,750, an increase of 8,500 from the previous week's revised average. This is the highest level for this average since November 13, 2021 when it was 260,000. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 246,750 to 247,250.

June 21, 2023

Federal investigators find Piedmont Airlines failed to follow required safety procedures to protect ground crew member from suffering fatal injuries

MONTGOMERY, AL ‒ Had Piedmont Airlines made sure that a ground crew followed required safety procedures, a 34-year-old customer service agent might have avoided suffering fatal injuries after being pulled into the spinning turbines of a jet engine in December 2022 at Montgomery Regional Airport.

June 20, 2023

Federal, state experts to present webinar on rights of expectant, new mothers in Texas workplaces

Who:             U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division

                        U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau

                        U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

June 20, 2023

US Department of Labor announces outreach events in Arizona, New Mexico on benefits for current, former nuclear weapons workers

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that the Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation will host a series of outreach events in Arizona and New Mexico for current and former nuclear weapons workers, including uranium miners, millers and ore transporters from covered facilities, and their families from June 27 to 29, 2023.

June 20, 2023

US Department of Labor finds Florida East Coast Railway fired worker in violation of federal family, medical leave protections

ORLANDO, FL – The federal Family and Medical Leave Act protects workers from being forced by their employers to choose between their health or their job, so when a regional railroad fired an engineer who sought protected leave, the U.S. Department of Labor investigated.

June 20, 2023

Unsafe bargain: Dallas-area Family Dollar store endangered employees by allowing blocked storeroom exits, walkways, unsafely stacked boxes

DALLAS – Soon after U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety inspectors arrived at a Family Dollar store in southeast Van Zandt County in December 2022, they found the store’s operator allowing merchandise to block storeroom exits and walkways, stacking boxes at unsafe heights and failing to ensure quick access to fire extinguishers.

June 20, 2023

Ohio manufacturer faces $171K in penalties after worker suffers amputation while operating machine that lacked adequate safety protections

ORRVILLE, OH – When federal investigators responded to a report that a mold machine operator at an Ohio foundry suffered a right thumb amputation in February 2023, they learned the company took no corrective action despite knowing that an employee using the same machine avoided similar injury eight months earlier.

June 20, 2023

Federal investigators find JBS Foods failed to protect Green Bay plant worker from amputations by ignoring required safety standards

GREEN BAY, WI ‒ Federal safety inspectors responded to a Wisconsin employer’s report of an amputation found workers at a Green Bay beef processing plant exposed to multiple hazards, including inadequate guards to protect employees from machines in operation.

June 16, 2023

US Department of Labor, North Florida non-profit initiative align to safeguard agriculture, construction industries’ workers

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

           The Migrants & Minorities Alliance Inc.

What:  Safety and health alliance

June 16, 2023

Court orders Georgia auto shop operator to pay over $39K in back wages, damages, forbids owner from discriminating, retaliating against employees

Date of action:  June 13, 2023

Type of action:  Fair Labor Standards Act consent order and permanent injunction

Names of defendants:   811 Autoworks LLC, operating as AOK Walker Luxury Autoworks 

June 16, 2023

Hostess Brands faces $298K in penalties after federal investigators find company’s safety, training failures led to worker’s amputation injury

CHICAGO ‒ A 29-year-old worker suffered the amputation of a fingertip while reassembling a pump at a Hostess Brands LLC facility in Chicago, an injury the employer could have prevented by ensuring to shut down and lockout the equipment to prevent it from unexpectedly starting during maintenance, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.

June 16, 2023

Federal investigators find Alabama tire shop did not follow procedures to protect workers from rim, tire failures after fatal explosion

OPP, AL – Federal workplace safety inspectors have determined the operator of a southern Alabama tire shop could have prevented a 45-year-old mechanic’s fatal injuries by following required safety standards.

June 16, 2023

US Department of Labor recovers $270K in back wages after finding Nashville restaurant required servers to illegally share tips with dishwashers

NASHVILLE, TN The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $270,751 in back wages after investigators learned a Nashville restaurant required servers to share tips with dishwashers and failed to pay some workers overtime wages when required. In all, 82 employees will benefit from the wage recovery.

June 15, 2023

US Department of Labor, Mexican Consulate in Dallas sign alliance to protect safety, health of Spanish-speaking workers

Participants:  U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational    

Safety and Health Administration

June 15, 2023

El Departamento de Trabajo recupera $37,000 en salarios atrasados adeudados a 86 trabajadores empleados en el oeste de Nueva York por 3 empresas agrícolas

ALBANY, NY - El Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. ha recuperado $37,103 en salarios atrasados para 86 trabajadores empleados por tres empleadores de la industria agrícola -una granja del condado de Wayne, un contratista de trabajo agrícola de Michigan y un operador de almacén del condado de Genesee- cuyas prácticas de empleo les rebajaron los salarios y les negaron el dinero que se les debía en virtud de la normativa federal que protege a los trabajadores agrícolas temporales.