CHARLESTON, S.C. – Investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division at three Charleston area restaurants have found violations of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. As a result, the restaurants will pay a total of $216,586 in back wages to 26 employees.

The investigations found the employers:

Date of Action:  May 02, 2016

Type of Action: Complaint

Name of Defendants: Kesco Southeast Inc., Dean Conn, Andrea Rozelle, and Kesco Southeast Inc. 401(k) Plan

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

Date of Action: May 5, 2016

Type of Action:  Consent order and judgment

Names of Defendant: John Bonner, Bonner & Borhart LLP, Bonner & Borhart LLP SIMPLE IRA Plan

Employer name: The Scoular Company
516 E Newton St., Tribune, Kansas 67879                           

Citations issued: May 2, 2016

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that $1 million will be available to research and analyze how paid-leave programs can be developed and implemented across the country.

NEW YORK – Responding to a report of an elevated blood lead level in a machinist at a Brooklyn brass plumbing fittings manufacturer, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that employees at Acme Parts Inc., lacked adequate protections against lead exposure, hearing loss and hazardous chemicals.

Date of Action: April 29, 2016

Type of Action: Appointment of receiver to cease dissipation of assets

Defendants: Enterprise Laundry Services Inc.
Margaret Matkowska

Employer name: Cajamarca Construction Corp., 36 Prospect Street, Apt. 2F, Elizabeth, New Jersey

Inspection site: Residential construction project at 259 Halladay St., Jersey City, New Jersey

Employer name: OG Plumbing LLC, 400 N. Ada St., Chicago

Inspection site: 1632 N. Western Ave., Chicago

Citations issued: April 25, 2016

NEW YORK –  CSX Transportation Inc. violated the anti-retaliation provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act when it suspended an employee at its Selkirk locomotive shop after he notified management of numerous alleged safety hazards and FRSA violations, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

In the week ending April 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 274,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 257,000. The 4-week moving average was 258,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 256,000.

Employer: Guadencio C. Gozum, doing business as G.C. Gozum Construction

Site: 164 Torres St., Mong Mong, Guam 96910

Employer name: US GreenFiber LLC

Inspection site: 1 Passan Drive, Building 2, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one willful, four serious, and two other-than-serious citations on April 28, 2016.

Employer name: U.S. Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center

Inspection site: 5801 Technology Blvd., Sandston, Virginia

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one other-than-serious, and four repeat citations on April 26, 2016.

SOUTH ELGIN, Ill. ‒ The amputation a 21-year-old temporary worker’s six fingers was preventable if his South Elgin employer had installed proper safety guards to keep the operator’s hands out of the metal press’ danger zone, federal inspectors found.

ARCADIA, Wis. ‒ Federal safety investigators have determined the amputation of a 23-year-old worker’s three fingertips was preventable if an Arcadia corrugated cardboard manufacturer had trained workers in proper safety procedures to prevent the chopping blade from operating while clearing a jam.

Date of Action: April 14, 2016

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act consent judgment

Defendant: Gavri LLC doing business as Days Inn, 4056 Mt. Carmel Tobasco Rd., Cincinnati
Sandhya “Lina” Patel

Employer name: Essroc Cement Corporation, Nazareth, Pennsylvania

Inspection site: 8282 Middlebranch Ave. NE, Middlebranch, Ohio

Citations issued: May 2, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Cleveland Area Office cited Essroc Cement Corporation for one repeated and 10 serious safety and health violations.

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal court has entered a consent judgment that orders a Silicon Valley electronics manufacturer to pay more than $80,000 in minimum wage and overtime back pay and an equal, additional amount in damages to its workers after the U.S. Department of Labor discovered violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  

Nearly $8,000 in civil money penalties were also assessed against the employer.