ICYMI: U.S. Department of Labor Acts to Help American Workers And Employers During the Coronavirus Pandemic

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor took a range of actions to aid American workers and employers as our nation combats the coronavirus pandemic.

Reopening America’s Economy:

• U.S. Secretary of Labor Scalia Highlights Workforce Development And Economic Recovery During Visit to Miami, Florida – U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia traveled to Miami, Florida, where he visited Miami Dade College’s Medical Campus and participated in a roundtable conversation with college leadership and Miami business leaders to discuss the Administration’s efforts to train American workers for valuable careers in healthcare. Following the roundtable, Secretary Scalia toured the campus, observed some of the educational programs and spoke with students. 

Keeping America’s Workplaces Safe and Healthy:

• U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA Announces $913,133 In Coronavirus Violations – Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic through Oct. 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited 62 establishments for violations, resulting in proposed penalties totaling $913,133. 

Defending Workers’ Rights to Paid Leave and Wages Earned:

• Panama City Landscaping Company Pays Back Wages to Employee Wrongly Denied Paid Sick Leave After Coronavirus Diagnosis – A Panama City, Florida-based landscaping company has paid $1,200 in back wages after wrongly denying emergency paid sick leave to an employee who self-quarantined after receiving a coronavirus diagnosis.

• Healthcare Staffing Company Pays More Than $3 Million in Back Wages After Missing Payroll for Employees Conducting Coronavirus Testing – An Overland Park, Kansas staffing company has paid $3,068,859 in back wages to 1,677 contract employees hired to conduct coronavirus testing in Orlando, Florida, under terms of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

• Alabama Janitorial Company Pays Back Wages to Employee Denied Paid Family Leave to Care for Children Learning Virtually During Pandemic – A janitorial services company based in Bessemer, Alabama  has paid $2,066 in back wages after the employer wrongly denied paid leave under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act to an employee who missed work to care for children engaged in distance learning. The children’s school was closed for in-person learning due to the coronavirus pandemic.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Labor is focused on protecting the safety and health of American workers, assisting our state partners as they deliver traditional unemployment and expanded unemployment benefits, ensuring Americans know their rights to new paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave, providing guidance and assistance to employers, and carrying out the mission of the Department.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.