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.

Keeping America’s Workplaces Safe and Healthy:

• U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA Announces $2,856,533 In Coronavirus Violations – Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic through Nov. 5, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued 204 citations arising from inspections for violations relating to coronavirus, resulting in proposed penalties totaling $2,856,533. 

Defending Workers’ Rights to Paid Leave and Wages Earned:

• Textile Manufacturer Pays Back Wages to Employee Denied Paid Family Leave to Care for Child During Pandemic – After an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division, an industrial textile manufacturer operating in Charlotte, North Carolina paid $2,606 in back wages for wrongly denying paid leave to an employee under the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act. The employee missed work to care for a child whose place of care was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

• Houston Railroad Company Pays Back Wages and Reinstates Employee Wrongly Denied Paid Leave to Care for Child During Pandemic – A railroad track construction, maintenance and rehabilitation company based in a Houston, Texas has paid $4,804 in back wages after wrongly denying an employee leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. 

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.