June 8, 2016

Court orders Pennsylvania paving company to pay $114K total in back wages, damages and penalties after US Labor Department investigation

Type of Action: Consent judgment

Defendant(s): Victor Paving and Construction Inc., and Victor Zeni

Resolution: Victor Paving and Construction Inc. will pay 11 employees $51,302 in back wages and an equal, additional amount in liquidated damages totaling $102,604  under the terms of a consent judgment entered in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on April 1, 2016.

June 8, 2016

US Labor Department obtains judgment, order against The Children’s Place, employee medical benefit plan administrator for restitution

Date of action: June 1, 2016

Type of action: Consent Judgment and Order

Name of Defendants: The Children’s Place Inc.; The Children’s Place Inc. Welfare Benefit Plan; Hendrik Johannes Lamprecht

June 8, 2016

OSHA cites two excavation contractors for exposing workers to trench cave-in hazards at a Jacksonville job site

Employer’s names: Allen’s Excavation Inc., Capital City Contracting LLC

Inspection site: 2037 Eastgate Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32308.

June 8, 2016

Clifton scrap recycler faces $121K in fines after OSHA finds 16 safety, health violations in car-crushing operation

Employer name: Park Stein Inc., 613-614 Route 46 East, Clifton, New Jersey

Citations issued: On June 3, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for one willful violation, eight repeat, five serious and two other-than-serious violations.

June 7, 2016

US Labor Department urges storm recovery workers and public to be vigilant, aware of hazards during storm cleanup

ATLANTA – As they recover from the impacts of Tropical Storm Colin and tornados, Florida’s emergency workers, employers, and the public at-large should be aware of the hazards they may encounter and take necessary steps to stay safe, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration urges.

June 7, 2016

US Labor Department awards $4.3M in incremental funding to help West Virginia coal workers affected by layoffs

State: West Virginia

Type of Award: National Dislocated Worker Grant

Previously Awarded Funds: $10,728,278

Incremental Amount Awarded: $4,318,182

Funding Awarded to: Workforce West Virginia

Number of Workers Served: Approximately 2,000

June 7, 2016

Court orders SoCal recycling company to pay workers $90K in back overtime wages, damages

Employer: Leo’s Recycling, a Southern California recycling company

Sites: 9306 Cayuga Avenue, Sun Valley
22115 Sierra Highway, Sylmar
12210 Foothill Boulevard, Panorama City
11631 Victory Boulevard Panorama City
9110 Van Nuys Boulevard Panorama City

June 7, 2016

Subsidiary of Ashland Inc., leading chemical company, settles charges of hiring discrimination with US Labor Department

RICHMOND, Va. – A subsidiary of one of the world’s leading specialty chemical companies has entered into a conciliation agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to resolve allegations of race-based hiring discrimination.

June 7, 2016

Workers exposed to failing concrete at Indianapolis mail processing center

Employer name: U.S. Postal Service, 125 West South Street, Indianapolis, Indiana

Citations issued: June 2, 2016

Investigation findings: A follow-up inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found a U.S. Postal Service sorting facility in Indianapolis failed to adequately address hazards from a crumbling parking structure that was falling on its workers.

June 7, 2016

MSHA proposes rule on workplace examinations that could prevent injuries, fatalities at US metal, nonmetal mines

ARLINGTON, Va. – Michael Jay Nickels was driving a truck at a sand and gravel mine in Valley County, Nebraska, in March 2015, when the vehicle left an elevated roadway on an embankment and headed into a pond – leaving him injured seriously. Two days later, the 44-year-old haul driver succumbed to his injuries.

June 7, 2016

OSHA: Auto reconditioning company failed to protect workers from toxic compounds, other safety and health hazards at Manheim facility

Employer name: Dent Wizard International Corp.

Inspection site: 1190 Lancaster Road, Manheim, Pennsylvania

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 31 serious and nine other-than-serious health and safety citations on June 1, 2016.

June 7, 2016

OSHA cites Aqua Ohio in trench collapse that led to the death of a 28-year-old employee of the water and sewer utility

MENTOR, Ohio – As he helped widen a road on Station Street in Mentor, a 28-year-old water and sewer utility worker suddenly found himself buried beneath thousands of pounds of soil when a trench, more than 5-feet deep in which he worked, collapsed on him. Hours later, his injuries led to the man’s death in a nearby hospital.

June 7, 2016

OSHA fines window restoration company $40K for lead, other hazards

CONCORD, N.H. – Federal workplace safety and health inspectors have cited a Dublin window restoration company for exposing workers to unsafe levels of lead, and other hazards.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted a follow-up inspection of Window Master Inc. and found that the company had:

June 6, 2016

Barney’s Police Supply firing range workers exposed to lead respiratory hazards, OSHA investigators find

Employer Name: Barney’s Inc. doing business as Barney’s Police Supply

Inspection Site: 218 Four Park Road, Lafayette, LA 70507

Citations issued: June 6, 2016

June 6, 2016

Roofing contractor again fails federal safety inspection, putting workers at risk of dangerous, deadly falls at Florida work site; faces $108,500 in penalties

Employer name: Coastal Building Systems of Amelia Inc.

Inspection site: 32157 Juniper Parke Drive, Fernandina Beach, Florida 32034

Citations issued: Citations were issued to the employer on June 3.

June 6, 2016

US Labor Department announces $100M America’s Promise grant competition to strengthen, expand regional job training partnerships

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of approximately $100 million in America’s Promise Job-Driven Grants to develop and grow regional partnerships between workforce agencies, education and training providers and employers in a variety of industries such as information technology, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, financial services and educational services.

June 3, 2016

Statement of US Labor Secretary Perez on May employment numbers

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

“In May, the economy added 38,000 jobs. Despite job growth below expectations, the nation continues to recover from the Great Recession, with 75 consecutive months of uninterrupted private-sector job growth to the tune of 14.5 million jobs. The national unemployment rate in May inched downward to 4.7 percent.

June 2, 2016

OSHA cites boat manufacturer for fire, explosion and electric shock hazards

Employer name: Nautic Star LLC

Inspection site: 500 Waterway Drive, Amory, Mississippi 38821

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on June 2 for 15 serious and eight other-than-serious safety and health violations.  OSHA initiated an inspection as part of the agency’s Regional Emphasis Program for Programmed Maritime Inspections.            

June 2, 2016

Staffing agency to pay more than $151K in overtime back wages, damages, after misclassifying 275 hotel employees as independent contractors

Employer: Allstars Staffing LLC, an agency providing workers to local resorts and hotels

Location: 925 East Hermosa Drive, Tempe, Arizona

June 2, 2016

Benefits.gov website adds location-based technology to personalize, enhance user experience

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that the Benefits.gov – official federal government benefits website – now customizes the user’s search for government benefits based on the user’s location. By personalizing the content on government benefits and other information – and providing content most commonly requested – the site now provides a better and more efficient tool for its users.