March 29, 2021

US Department of Labor announces availability of $10.5 million for mine safety training grants

ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced the availability of $10,537,000 in state grant funding to provide training and retraining of miners and mine operators working at surface and underground coal and metal and nonmetal mines. The training is federally mandated.

March 29, 2021

US Department of Labor announces Brookwood-Sago grants’ availability of up to $1M for mine safety education, training

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today the availability of up to $1 million to fund grants to support education and training to help mine workers identify, avoid and prevent unsafe working conditions.

March 29, 2021

US Department of Labor announces non-enforcement of Final Rule on Form T-1 Trust Annual Report filing

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Office of Labor-Management Standards will not enforce its final rule on “Labor Organization Annual Financial Reports For Trusts In Which A Labor Organization Is Interested, Form T-1” until one year after the date a labor organization’s first Form T-1 is due.

March 29, 2021

OSHA cites Ohio production facility for exposing employees to dangerous confined space, machine, other hazards

OXFORD, OH – Without proper safety measures taken, gases and or vapors in a confined space may overcome a worker or a lack of oxygen may suffocate them. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that from 2011-2018, there were 1,030 confined space-related workers deaths.

March 26, 2021

US Department of Labor files lawsuit alleging Texas hotel operator illegally fired worker who sought medical care for carbon monoxide exposure

HOUSTON – In January 2019, a worker at a Holiday Inn Express & Suites hotel in Waller alerted their employer that exposure to carbon monoxide made them ill and asked the employer to call an ambulance. In addition to refusing the worker’s request, the employer allegedly threatened to terminate the employee. After going to the hospital, the worker was terminated.

March 26, 2021

OSHA cites Seneca Foods after worker suffers serious injuries after being struck by forklift at Wisconsin facility

RIPON, WI – A forklift struck and seriously injured a 60-year-old seasonal employee as she walked toward a pallet to label products for shipping at a Ripon facility where vegetables are canned for Libby’s and several other brands.

March 25, 2021

El Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. lanza una iniciativa centrada en la educación, difusion y la aplicación de la ley en la industria agrícola del país

WASHINGTON, DC – A lo largo de la pandemia, los trabajadores agrícolas se han mantenido en el trabajo en todo el país a pesar de las exposiciones potenciales, para alimentar a los estadounidenses y apoyar las exportaciones estadounidenses. Mientras el Departamento de Trabajo de los EE.

March 25, 2021

US Department of Labor launches initiative focused on education, outreach, enforcement in nation’s agricultural industry

WASHINGTON, DC Throughout the pandemic, farmworkers have remained on the job throughout the nation despite potential exposures to feed Americans and support U.S. exports. As the U.S.

March 25, 2021

US Department of Labor files federal complaint seeking damages for whistleblower fired for reporting unsafe conditions at Missouri plant

BRIDGETON, MO – After a production operator at a carbon fiber manufacturer brought various safety concerns to management, he approached a third-party auditor reviewing operations at the company’s St. Peters facility with his concerns. The next day, his employer suspended him.

March 25, 2021

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending March 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 684,000, a decrease of 97,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 11,000 from 770,000 to 781,000. The 4-week moving average was 736,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,750 from 746,250 to 749,000.

March 24, 2021

Worker’s injury at Fargo grain bin yields employer’s commitment to improve workplace safety, protect employees

FARGO, ND – A North Dakota seed production company has committed to changing its safety procedures and training following a worker’s severe and life-altering injury in 2020.

March 24, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $19K for 24 employees of Gulf Breeze restaurant after investigation uncovers minimum wage, overtime violations

GULF BREEZE, FL For low-wage earners, every minute spent working equals much-needed income. When employers fail to account for all the hours employees work, as was the case with a Gulf Breeze restaurant, these workers find it more difficult to provide for themselves and their families.

March 23, 2021

US Department of Labor announces proposed rulemakings to further consider, review tipped workers’ regulations

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking related to tipped workers as the effective date approaches for the “Tip Regulations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” final rule, published in December 2020.

March 22, 2021

Statement by Marty J. Walsh following Senate confirmation of his appointment as 29th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Senate voted, on a bipartisan basis, to confirm Marty J. Walsh as the 29th Secretary of Labor.

“I am incredibly honored and privileged to serve as the United States’ next Secretary of Labor. I am grateful for the bipartisan support of members of the Senate, and I want to thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for their confidence in my ability to lead the Department of Labor during such a critical time in our nation’s history.

March 22, 2021

Pontiac, Michigan, grocer will pay $95K in overtime back wages to 14 workers after US Department of Labor investigation

PONTIAC, MI – While its shelves stocked with imported Hispanic food favorites make Pontiac’s Carnival Market a destination grocery for Detroit metro shoppers, a federal investigation has found the employer shortchanged its cashiers, bakers and dishwashers of wages they legally earned.

March 22, 2021

US Department of Labor announces $31M funding opportunity to create Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Centers of Excellence

WASHINGTON, DCThe U.S. Department of Labor announced today the availability of approximately $31 million in funds to establish Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Centers of Excellence to support the expansion and modernization of technical assistance available in the registered apprenticeship system.

March 22, 2021

US Department of Labor launches website for victims of unemployment fraud

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today launched a new website for people to understand unemployment insurance identity theft, and how and where to report stolen benefits if they are victims.

March 22, 2021

US Department of Labor wins consent judgment requiring traffic control company to pay employees for time spent transporting co-workers

NILES, MI – A recent court order requires one of the nation’s largest traffic control companies to pay road flaggers in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio for time they spend transporting their co-workers in a company truck to and from job sites at the company’s request.

March 22, 2021

Oregon buffet restaurant to pay $417K in back wages to 39 workers after US Department of Labor finds minimum wage and overtime violations

BEAVERTON, OR – A Beaverton buffet restaurant may offer its customers a wide variety of selections, but a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found the eatery’s owner willfully failed to include legally required wage on its menu for the people who worked there.

March 22, 2021

Pittsylvania County health care services provider pays $139K in back wages after US Labor Department investigation finds overtime violations

DANVILLE, VA – Most home health care workers put in long hours and earn low wages as they meet the needs of parents, grandparents, elderly friends and the chronically ill. For dozens of employees of a Danville home health care company shortchanged on their overtime wages, making ends meet gets even harder.