WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about today’s sentencing of former Massey Energy Chief Executive Officer Donald Blankenship:

“This sentence proves that no mine operator is above the law, and should send a strong signal to unscrupulous employers that skirt safety rules. No prison sentence and no amount of money can bring back the 29 men who lost their lives at Upper Big Branch, but my sincere hope is that this sentence can offer some measure of closure for the families of those miners.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the February 2016 Employment Situation report released today:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the January 2016 Employment Situation report released today:

WASHINGTON — Acting United States Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis and Acting Secretary of Labor Seth Harris today announced that the United States and Guatemala have agreed on a robust enforcement plan to resolve concerns raised in a labor case brought by the United States under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). The 18-point plan includes concrete actions with specific time frames that Guatemala will implement within six months to improve labor law enforcement.