WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement on the April 2010 Employment Situation report released today:

"This past April, the economy gained 290,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month:

"As your secretary of labor, it is an honor to commemorate and celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

"Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have faced challenges and struggles here in the United States. Many of them encountered racial, social and religious discrimination. These brave men and women stood up for what they believed to be right, and our country is better for it.

WASHINGTON – Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, today issued the following statement announcing the opening of an OSHA office in Las Vegas, Nev.:

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement in support of the Protecting America's Workers Act:

"It has been 40 years since the Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed, but every day 14 workers are killed on the job. Tens of thousands more die from work-related disease every year, and 4.6 million are seriously injured.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding the funeral and memorial service for Dr. Dorothy Height:

"Today, our nation remembered the life of Dr. Dorothy Height during funeral services at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. She was a champion of the civil rights movement and a staunch women's advocate. Dr. Height understood that the way forward in the civil rights movement was connected to the education and economic prosperity of African-Americans.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement on Workers Memorial Day, April 28, 2010:

"Mary Harris 'Mother' Jones once said, 'Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living.' That call to arms rings especially true today, on Workers Memorial Day, and on the heels of a tragic month for the nation's working families.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement on the death of W. Willard Wirtz:

"Willard Wirtz liked to call me '25.' So I would call him '10.' The number suited him perfectly.

Turning Green to Gold, Safely campaign to collect best practices from public

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement on Equal Pay Day:

"Nearly a half century after the Equal Pay Act was enacted to ensure equal pay for equal work, this form of discrimination continues to impinge upon women's rights in the workplace. As women hold nearly half of this nation's jobs, their earnings have become even more central to families' economic well-being.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis has announced the appointment of Ken Bennett as her representative in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. Bennett is based in Chicago, Ill.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding the vote of the U.S. Senate to begin work on legislation to extend unemployment insurance and Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act health care benefits to unemployed American workers:

"I applaud those senators who voted yesterday to move forward on this much needed extension of unemployment and health care benefits for the millions of American families who continue to need assistance even as we see our economy starting to turn around.

WASHINGTON Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding the death of James L. DeMarce, director of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs Division of Coal Mine Workers' Compensation:

"We at the U.S. Department of Labor are deeply saddened to learn of the sudden death of Jim DeMarce, who served as the director of the department's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs Division of Coal Mine Workers' Compensation for more than 25 years.

WASHINGTON Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement on the Upper Big Branch Mine and pattern of violation status:

"After the tragedy at the Upper Big Branch Mine, I directed Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Mine Safety and Health Administration Joe Main to look at all of the information we had regarding the history of violations at the Upper Big Branch Mine.

Sec rep to cover activities in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Hawaii

WASHINGTON Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced the appointment of Alicia Villarreal as her regional representative in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Hawaii. Villarreal will be based in Los Angeles, Calif.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced the appointment of Mark McDermott as her representative in Region 10 of the U.S. Department of Labor. The region includes the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Alaska. McDermott will be based in Seattle, Wash.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today outlined a series of steps to make its operations more transparent while expanding opportunities for public participation and collaboration.

"This plan is not just a response to the president's call for an unprecedented level of openness in government. The actions and initiatives we have announced today are also a substantive recognition of the changing needs and expectations of the working people," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the March 2010 Employment Situation report released today.

This past March, the economy gained 162,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.7 percent.

Statement of US Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on immediate need to extend unemployment insurance and COBRA safety net programs

Editors Note: The U.S. Senate recessed today, March 26, without approving legislation that would have extended emergency unemployment insurance benefits for workers who have lost their jobs and health insurance subsidies under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.

WASHINGTON – Today, five years after the terrible explosion at BP's Texas City refinery, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement remembering the 15 workers who were killed and the many others who were injured in that tragic event:

"As we've seen from my department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's recent enforcement actions, BP still has a long way to go to ensure the safety of its employees and those of the contractors who work in its refineries.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement on passage of a health care reform bill by the U.S. House of Representatives: