Type of Action: Consent order and judgement

Names of Defendants: Ditch Witch Equipment of Tennessee Inc.
Aubrey Needham

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor and a third-party administrator that provides employee health benefit plans with access to a network of doctors, hospitals and other medical providers have reached an agreement in which the administrator has committed to improve its communications with health plans and to return certain fees the plans paid for claims administration that the department alleged were not fully disclosed to the plans.

In the week ending July 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 233,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 247,000 to 248,000. The 4-week moving average was 243,750, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 245,750 to 246,000.

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EAST ORANGE, N.J. – Three East Orange construction companies have entered into a consent judgment  with the U.S. Department of Labor and will pay $850,000 in back wages and damages to 153 workers to resolve violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta released the following statement on his meeting with Swiss government officials to discuss apprenticeships and workforce development models:

KEY LARGO, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a South Florida utility company and related contracting company after the agency’s investigation into the deaths of three workers who succumbed to toxic gases in a manhole on Jan. 16, 2017.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced the availability of $10.5 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants to fund training and education for workers and employers to help them identify and prevent workplace safety and health hazards.

In the week ending July 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 247,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 248,000 to 250,000. The 4-week moving average was 245,750, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 243,000 to 243,500.

FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS – A fraud investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the FBI, and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General has led to a 12-year prison sentence for William Jackson Moates Jr., of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

DAYTON – A multi-agency federal and state investigation has led to the guilty plea and imprisonment of Ohio businessman William M. Apostelos, who orchestrated a Ponzi scheme that included the theft of $1.9 million from an employee benefit plan. The U.S.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta issued the following statement on the June 2017 Employment Situation report:

ARLINGTON, Va. - Improvements in roof control technology in underground coal mines have significantly reduced accidents involving roof and rib falls or coal bursts, but such accidents remain a leading cause of injuries, reports the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration. Since 2013, roof and rib falls or coal bursts led to the deaths of five continuous mining machine operators, and injured 83 other operators.

In the week ending July 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 248,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 244,000. The 4-week moving average was 243,000, an increase of 750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 242,250.

Employer: Colima’s Carniceria y Taqueria

Site: 611 Tulare St., Parlier, California

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a funding opportunity of approximately $15 million in grants to state workforce agencies to develop flexible and innovative strategies to increase the participation of people with disabilities in federally funded employment and training programs.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has published a Request for Information related to the fiduciary rule. The RFI is an opportunity for the public to provide data and information that may be used to revise the rule and associated exemptions.

In the week ending June 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 244,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 241,000 to 242,000. The 4-week moving average was 242,250, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 244,750 to 245,000.

GROVEPORT, Ohio – Amsted Rail Company Inc., a manufacturer of cast steel freight components, faces $610,034 in proposed penalties from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration after agency investigators found workers at its Groveport plant exposed to machine hazards and silica.

State: Missouri

Type of Award: National Dislocated Worker Grant

Total Amount Approved: $8 million

Initial Amount Released: $2.7 million

Funding Awarded to: The Missouri Division of Workforce Development

Number of Workers Served: Approximately 250

WASHINGTON – When individuals exit correctional systems, they face a variety of challenges that inhibit their ability to reenter the workforce and their community. Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced $72,797,326 in grant funds to be awarded to 32 programs to strengthen access to opportunity for these individuals.