WASHINGTON—U.S. Wage and House Division Administrator Tammy McCutchen today told a Senate subcommittee that the Labor Department’s new overtime security rules will strengthen and guarantee overtime pay protection for 6.7 million additional workers.

WASHINGTON—In testimony before the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee, U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao today said the Department’s new overtime security rules will strengthen and guarantee overtime pay protection for an unprecedented 6.7 million additional workers and make the existing rules much easier for workers and employers to understand.

NEW ORLEANS, La.—U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today named a new enforcement task force within the Wage and Hour division of the Department of Labor to maximize protection of workers’ pay rights under new Overtime Security rules announced last week. The announcement followed a meeting Secretary Chao held with Department of Labor Wage and Hour regional managers and district directors.

Over 6,000 Radio Stations and 10,000 Newspapers will Receive Public Service Announcements

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor has launched a nationwide outreach campaign to increase awareness about youth employment laws as part of the YouthRules! Initiative. YouthRules! promotes positive and safe work experiences for young workers by educating parents, teens, employers, and educators about the types of jobs teens can hold and the number of hours they can work.

New Rule available at the Federal Register

WASHINGTON—New rules governing overtime rights for white-collar workers are published today in the Federal Register. The Department of Labor announced the new overtime rules in a news conference earlier this week. The regulations become effective in 120 calendar days.

FairPay Initiative Guarantees Overtime Rights for Millions of Workers

WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced the final regulations governing overtime eligibility for “white-collar” workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The regulations had not been substantially updated for over 50 years, creating confusion for workers and employers, generating wasteful class action litigation, and failing to effectively protect workers’ pay rights.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor published final regulations today implementing Executive Order 13201, which requires government contractors and subcontractors to post notices informing their employees of their rights relating to union membership and the use of their union dues and fees.

“When everyone is informed of the law, workers, employers and unions all win,” said Victoria A. Lipnic, Assistant Secretary for Employment Standards. “We are charged with and committed to protecting workers and enforcing laws that guard their wages, their safety and their rights.”

SEATTLE—The U.S. Department of Labor announced today the filing of a consent judgment in which Siemens Building Technologies, Inc., of Bellevue agrees to pay 52 employees $1,204,203 in overtime back wages for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WASHINGTON—For their efforts to promote equal employment opportunity, nine companies and organizations were honored today by the U.S. Department of Labor at an annual awards ceremony hosted by the department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

Three types of awards—the Secretary of Labor’s Opportunity Award, Exemplary Voluntary Efforts (EVE) Awards, and Exemplary Public Interest Contribution (EPIC) Awards—were presented to recognize innovative workplace programs and initiatives that increase equal employment opportunity for the American workforce.

WASHINGTON—Strandtek International Inc., a financially strapped Southside manufacturing plant on the brink of closing, will now remain open and has paid 133 workers $1.3 million in unpaid wages, thanks to negotiating efforts by the U.S. Department of Labor.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it has filed a consent judgment and order with the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, for $410,000 in back wages and damages as part of a settlement of lawsuits brought by the department against New York garment contractors and manufacturers.

SEATTLE - The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it has reached an agreement with T-Mobile USA, Inc. to pay 20,546 workers $4,779,985 in back wages as a result of alleged violations of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

T-Mobile, a provider of wireless telecommunication services, is headquartered in Bellevue, Wash.

Wage Hour Administrator Participates in LULAC Child Labor Panel on Child Labor

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Administrator Tammy D. McCutchen participated in a panel discussion titled, “Child Labor: Keep Them From Harm” during the League of United Latin American’s Citizens (LULAC) 74th annual convention being held in Orlando, FL.

Expansion Includes New Strategic Partnerships, Resource Materials, and Revamped Website

WASHINGTON—Tammy D. McCutchen, Administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, today announced the expansion of the YouthRules! initiative to include information geared towards youth employed in agriculture.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement with Swissport USA, Inc. (formerly Dynair). The settlement resolves the department’s allegations that Swissport discriminatorily refused to hire female and minority job applicants into ramp worker positions, at the Anchorage, Alaska Airport.

“The settlement reached on behalf of these workers reflects the Department’s continued commitment to remedying unfair hiring practices and keeping workplaces free of discrimination,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that is has entered into a settlement agreement with Jimmy Deans Foods, a division of Sara Lee Corporation. The settlement resolves the department’s allegations that Jimmy Dean Foods discriminated against female applicants for laborer jobs at its Newbern, Tenn. meat-processing plant.

Department Seeks to Modernize 50-Year-Old Wage Regulations

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor today published a proposal to modernize its 50-year-old regulations defining exemptions from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for “white-collar” employees, a measure that will help small businesses grow and guarantee overtime pay for 1.3 million more low-wage workers.

National Council for Agricultural Employers Joins Effort to Ensure Safe and Rewarding Work Experiences for Young Workers

WASHINGTON—Tammy D. McCutchen, administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, has announced a “YouthRules!” partnership with National Council for Agricultural Employers (NCAE) to promote safe and rewarding work experiences for youth.

WASHINGTON – The law that provides up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave annually for family and medical reasons was enacted 10 years ago today and is enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment Standards Administration.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor today filed an administrative complaint against Whirlpool Corporation, headquartered in Benton Harbor, Mich. The complaint alleges that Whirlpool, a federal contractor, discriminated against minority job applicants for “technicians” (entry level assembler) positions at the corporation’s appliance manufacturing facility in Tulsa, Okla.