BELOIT, WI – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has again cited Avid Pallet Services LLC after a follow-up inspection found employees continued to be exposed to wood dust. The company faces penalties of $188,302 for repeated, serious, and other-than-serious safety and health violations.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an opioid-crisis Dislocated Worker Grant (DWG) to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development for up to $2,450,295, with $816,765 released initially. This grant will provide disaster relief jobs and employment services to eligible individuals in eight Massachusetts counties who have been impacted by the health and economic effects of widespread opioid use, addiction, and overdose.  

HINESVILLE, GA – The Liberty County Board of Commissioners will pay $209,106 in back wages to 131 employees for violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) found in a U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation.

ACWORTH, GA - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Corley Contractors Inc. – based in Dallas, Georgia – for exposing employees to excavation hazards while installing water and sewer lines at a worksite in Acworth, Georgia. The company faces $106,078 in penalties.

PROVIDENCE, RI – Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the Department of Labor has filed suit against Madeira Restaurant Inc. and The Waterfront Restaurant and Lounge Inc. – operators of two East Providence, Rhode Island, restaurants – and their owner Albertino Milho and managers David Milho, and Karen DaSilva, alleging willful violations of the overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

ALBUQUERQUE, NM - Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Santa Fe Picacho Hotel Management Corporation - doing business as Heritage Hotels & Resorts and Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town in Albuquerque - has paid $39,545 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 69 employees for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements.

ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is partnering with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, State of Georgia, and local government organizations and employers to sponsor safety stand-down events during National Highway Work Zone Awareness Week, April 8-12, 2019.

LEBANON, OH – A Lebanon, Ohio, company that provides services to individuals with development disabilities has agreed to pay 84 employees a total of $37,658 – representing $18,829 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

LOS ANGELES, CA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has entered a consent judgment against the individual defendants of a failing California-based Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA) in a Department lawsuit aimed at protecting more than 16,000 participants and beneficiaries.

CEDAR FALLS, IA – The State of Iowa, Board of Regents - operating as the University of Northern Iowa - has entered into a settlement agreement to resolve alleged violations of an employee's protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as found in a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation.

BLOOMINGTON, IL ‒ To raise awareness about the hazards in the grain handling industry, including potentially deadly engulfment and dust explosions, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is joining with industry leaders and safety professionals on March 25, 2019, to initiate the 2019 National Safety Stand-Up and Grain Safety Week, March 25-29 in Bloomington, Illinois.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that the Office of the Federal Register has published the Department's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would make more than a million more American workers eligible for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The official publication in the Federal Register marks the start of the proposal's public comment period, which will remain open for 60 days and close on May 21, 2019.

BOWLING GREEN, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed penalties of $1,326,367 to Dowa THT America Inc. – a metal heat treatment company based in Bowling Green, Ohio – after the company exposed employees to atmospheric, thermal, electrical, and mechanical hazards as they performed maintenance inside heat-treating furnaces. In addition to the penalties, OSHA placed the company in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

CITY OF OREM, UT – The City of Orem, Utah, has paid $16,350 in civil money penalties to resolve child labor violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found the city employed 25 children under the age of 16 at its Scera Park Pools after 9 p.m. in the summers of 2017 and 2018.

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will hold a Data Users’ Conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Missouri, on April 1, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.

In the week ending March 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 221,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 229,000 to 230,000. The 4-week moving average was 225,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 223,750 to 224,000. 

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has reached a settlement with Pacific Architects and Engineers – based in Arlington, Virginia – requiring the company to pay $21,507 in back pay and interest after an investigation found the company discriminated against a hearing impaired employee at its Lee's Summit, Missouri facility.

ATHENS, AL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the Limestone County Sheriff's Department – based in Athens, Alabama – will pay $49,968 in back wages to 126 employees for violations of the overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

GREENVILLE, SC – After investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Whiteford's Inc. – operator of 30 Kentucky Fried Chicken and Arby's fast food locations in South Carolina and Georgia, and based in Greenville, South Carolina – has paid $32,797 in back wages to 298 employees for violating the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

PERRY, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited ammunition manufacturer AMTEC Less Lethal Systems Inc. for exposing employees to explosive hazards after an explosion fatally injured two workers at the company's Perry, Florida, facility. The company faces $188,290 in penalties for multiple serious violations, and a willful violation that carries the maximum penalty allowed.