WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the opening of the public comment period for its proposed rule intended to protect millions of workers from the significant health risks of extreme heat and its publication in the Federal Register. 

WASHINGTON – As the nation begins Labor Rights Week, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Republic of Colombia today announced the South American country has joined the Consular Partnership Program to raise awareness among Colombians working in the U.S. about regulations protecting them in America’s workplaces. 

CHICAGO ‒ Federal safety inspectors became aware that a 31-year-old employee of a Chicago countertop manufacturer needed a double lung transplant after suffering accelerated silicosis ‒ an incurable lung disease – and the U.S. Department of Labor immediately alerted the company of the potential imminent danger and an inspection by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found workers exposed to silica levels up to six times greater than permissible limits. 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Labor officials and representatives from the Mexican Embassy and other diplomatic missions joined today to mark Labor Rights Week 2024 with an event promoting migrant workers’ rights and how the department is safeguarding these rights. 

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered the Southlake location of a national childcare provider to reinstate an employee and pay $43,295 in back wages and damages after the employer fired them for reporting concerns about unsanitary and unsafe conditions in the facility’s kitchen to Texas health officials. 

ORLANDO, FL – A subsidiary of one of the world’s best-known operators of convenience stores and fueling stations could have prevented a store cashier in Orlando from suffering a serious gunshot injury by following the company’s own established safety procedures, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

HATTIESBURG, MS –The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with a Hattiesburg poultry processing plant that requires the company to pay $164,814 in fines and implement enhanced safety measures to protect their employees from well-known machine hazards.

Date of action:                       Aug. 6, 2024

Type of action:                      Decision and order 

PALOS PARK, IL – A federal workplace safety investigation has found that a metro-Chicago carpentry contractor with a long history of exposing employees to potentially deadly hazards again ignored regulations to protect workers from falls.

ALBANY, NY – After receiving citations requiring it to correct existing fall hazards at its Chester warehouse, and paying $17,403 in penalties, Adidas America Inc. - maker of one of the world’s best-selling sneakers - now faces an additional $396,377 in penalties for continuing to ignore U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety standards.

OKLAHOMA CITY - An Edmond contractor with a history of workplace safety violations dating back to 2018, including three related to the dangers in underground trenches, was found disregarding U.S. Department of Labor regulations.

JACKSONVILLE, TX – Despite receiving warnings and citations for more than a decade, a Jacksonville pallet manufacturer’s history of failing to protect employees from the risk of amputation continues, a U.S. Department of Labor follow-up inspection has found. 

EL PASO, TX – An El Paso contractor could have prevented a 37-year-old employee from suffering fatal injuries in February 2024 by following federally required safety standards to avoid trench collapses, the same failure for which the U.S.

RIVER GROVE, IL – Two federal workplace safety investigations have found a Chicago-area framing contractor - already facing debt collection for more than $100,000 in fines for violations identified in 2022 - continuing to expose employees to deadly fall hazards and defying the U.S. Department of Labor’s requests for documents and information related to the contractor’s business and workers safety and health.

BOISE, ID – A federal workplace safety investigation into the fatal injury of three workers and injuries to at least eight others, after an airport hangar collapsed near the Boise Airport in January 2024, found the building contractor ignored standard safety procedures and visible warning signs during construction.

PERRYSBURG, OH – Twice in less than two weeks, federal workplace safety inspectors found an Indiana contractor exposing employees to deadly risks of falls from elevation while they did framing work at two homes under construction in Perrysburg. 

NORFOLK, VA – As part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor, Maersk Line Limited - one of the world’s largest marine cargo services providers - will change its safety reporting policies and compensate a seaman the company terminated after they reported safety concerns to the U.S. Coast Guard without first notifying their employer.

DANVILLE, IL ‒ The U.S.

BAYVILLE, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor has cited a New Jersey water tower painting company for three willful and 19 serious violations after finding the contractor failed to provide or install required safety equipment that would have prevented an employee from falling 80 feet to the bottom of a Bayville water tower and suffering severe injuries in January 2024.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – For the second time in five years, the U.S. Department of Labor has found a Winter Haven contractor allowed employees to do roof work without adequate protection exposing workers to falls, one of the construction industry’s deadliest hazards.