July 13, 2021

Milwaukee metal fabricating facility cited for failing to implement hearing conservation, machine safety programs

MILWAUKEE – Despite two 2020 inspections that identified dangerous machine and noise hazards, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found a Milwaukee metal fabricating facility continues to put its workers’ safety and health at risk.

July 13, 2021

Grocery store operator pays over $27K in penalties after US Department of Labor finds repeated child labor violations at Maine, New Hampshire locations

MANCHESTER, NH – The operator of two specialty grocery stores in New Hampshire and Maine, has paid $27,274 in civil money penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor after an investigation found that the employer employed minors to clean power-driven meat mixers and grinders. Federal child labor laws prohibit employees under 18 from cleaning or operating these machines.

July 12, 2021

OSHA signs alliance with Ohio Agribusiness Association to train, protect workers from grain handling hazards

CHICAGO – To combat the dangers workers face in grain handling, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Ohio On-Site Consultation Program, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the Ohio Agribusiness Association signed an alliance on July 9, 2021.

July 12, 2021

Recognizing anniversary of worker’s death, US Department of Labor urges western New Yorkers to safeguard against hot weather hazards

BUFFALO – On July 7, 2020, 35-year-old Timothy Barber collapsed at the end of his shift after working on the Genesee River Bridge Project in Geneseo. Treated for heat stress and heat exhaustion, he died from hyperthermia on his second day on the job.

July 12, 2021

Mississippi-based contractor pays $52K in back wages, fringe benefits to 45 laborers after US Department of Labor finds federal labor violations

GALLATIN, TN – A Mississippi-based plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor with 10 Southeast locations and nearly 75 years of experience has learned that federal contract wage violations can be costly.

July 9, 2021

US, Mexico announce enforcement of worker protection agreement

WASHINGTON, DC On Thursday, July 8, the U.S. and Mexico announced a comprehensive plan to ensure that international labor standards are being enforced at the General Motors’ facility in Silao, Mexico. This effort represents the first step of remediation under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Through this type of enforcement, American workers are protected from unfair trade practices and are able to compete and succeed in the manufacturing sector.

July 9, 2021

Statement by US Secretary of Labor Walsh on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s Interim Final Rule on Special Financial Assistance

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s issuance of an interim final rule implementing Special Financial Assistance to financially troubled multiemployer pension plans:

July 8, 2021

Maryland plumbing subcontractor pays $50K in back wages, benefits following US Labor Department investigation

COLUMBIA, MD – A Columbia plumbing subcontractor working on a federally funded project in Washington, D.C. failed to pay workers all the wages they earned, until a U.S. Department of Labor investigation recovered $50,088 in back wages and benefits for four employees. 

July 8, 2021

US Department of Labor urges workers, employers and public to be aware of hazards after Tropical Storm Elsa

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration urges response crews and residents to recognize the hazards created by flooding, power loss, structural damage, fallen trees and storm debris in areas affected by Tropical Storm Elsa.

July 8, 2021

Farm labor contractor pays $56K in penalties for violating migrant worker, immigration laws after a vehicle accident that injured 14 workers in Maine

 

MANCHESTER, NH – A North Carolina-based tree thinning contractor who employed foreign forestry workers in Maine as fir-tippers has paid a total of $55,810 in civil money penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor to resolve violations of federal laws protecting migrant and seasonal workers, and preventing adverse conditions for U.S. workers. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges ordered the resolution in a decision and order approving consent findings.

July 8, 2021

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending July 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 373,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 7,000 from 364,000 to 371,000. The 4-week moving average was 394,500, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,000 from 392,750 to 394,750.

July 7, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $238K in wages for 26 skilled workers at US Navy installation whose employer incorrectly classified them

SEATTLE Pipe fitters, electricians, forklift operators and carpenters working on two separate federally funded contracts on Naval Base Kitsap failed to receive the prevailing wages and benefits required for their occupations because their employer classified them incorrectly as lower-compensated general laborers.

July 7, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $140K in back wages for 66 delivery drivers of Londonderry, Concord pizza restaurants

MANCHESTER, NH – Pizza shops rely on drivers to make timely deliveries to their customers. These drivers depend on their employers to pay them their hard-earned wages, as the law requires. When Checkmate Pizza in Concord and Londonderry failed to deliver all the wages drivers had earned, the U.S. Department of Labor stepped in.

July 7, 2021

US Department of Labor finds Chicago towing company denies minimum wage, overtime to employees misclassified as independent contractors

CHICAGO – The operators of a Chicago towing company that promises customers round-the-clock service failed to pay dozens of its workers legally for the hours they worked providing emergency road service. 

July 6, 2021

US Department of Labor announces $798K supplemental funding award to assist South Dakota in pandemic recovery

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the supplemental award of $798,246 to the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation to support workforce development to respond to the impacts of the pandemic on the state.

July 6, 2021

US Department of Labor announces $5M funding opportunity to combat forced labor, child labor abuses in Malaysia

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor announced today the availability of $5 million in grant funding to combat child and forced labor abuses in Malaysia’s palm oil and garment industries.

July 6, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $1.9M grant to Muckleshoot Indian Tribe to provide employment, training in response to opioid crisis

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced incremental funding of $1,996,702 to members of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe in northwestern Washington to provide jobs, and employment and training services to individuals in communities impacted significantly by the health and economic effects of widespread opioid use, addiction and overdose.

July 6, 2021

US Department of Labor investigation finds Tennessee supermarket violated child labor laws, leading to amputation of teenager’s arm

CLARKSBURG, TN – When the owners of a Clarksburg supermarket allowed two 16-year-old employees to clean a meat grinder, disaster soon struck. As one boy reached inside the machine, the grinder started and amputated the teenager’s right forearm.

July 6, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $78K for 27 North Charleston-area food store workers after investigation finds illegal pay practices

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC Some employees may not understand fully how federal law protects them if their employer fails to pay them as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires, as workers at two North Charleston-area food stores have learned.

July 2, 2021

Statement by US Secretary of Labor Walsh on the June Jobs Report

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on the June 2021 Employment Situation Report: