Date of Action:  Jan. 8, 2016

Type of Action: U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against TSPA Holding Inc. in Austin, Texas, and its owner to recover $31,000 in missing retirement funds affecting three employees.

Name(s) of Defendant: TSPA Holding Inc., Derlis “Trey” Salinas, and TSPA Holding Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration today announced the availability of approximately $5 million for 10 grants of up to $500,000 each to put specialized American Job Centers within county, municipal or regional correctional facilities. By doing so, the grants will support an integrated approach that links pre-release services directly to post-release services.

Date of Action: Jan. 8, 2016

Type of Action: Default Judgment and Order

Names of Defendants: Rik Sanchez, Ants Software Inc., and Ants Software Inc. 401(k) Plan

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – A 30-year-old construction worker returned from a holiday weekend on July 6, 2015, ready to install gutters on new apartment and condominium buildings at 1323 West Chester Pike in West Chester. It was his first day on the job site, and his last as a builder.

As a rough terrain  forklift raised a makeshift platform on which he stood up three stories to the roof, the platform toppled and the man fell 40 feet onto the rubble below. The worker suffered serious and permanent injuries, including paralysis from the waist down.

Employer name: Amazon Fulfillment Services

Site: 50 New Canton Way, Robbinsville, New Jersey

Citation and hazard alert letters issued: On Dec. 21, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Marlton Area Office issued one other-than-serious citation. On Dec. 30, 2015, one ergonomic-related hazard-alert letter was issued. Additionally, OSHA issued a medical-related hazard-alert letter on Jan. 7, 2016.

RALEIGH, N.C. – Investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division have found violations of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act at 10 San Jose Mexican Restaurant locations throughout the state. As a result, the restaurants will pay a total of $511,745 in back wages to 125 employees. The division’s Raleigh District Office led the initiative.

Violations found include:

BOSTON – A settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Labor and Mass Bay Electrical Corp. commits the East Boston electrical contractor to extensive corrective action to prevent future deaths and injuries and establishes a training fund in the memory of Joseph Boyd III and John Loughran, who were killed when a crane toppled in Bourne on April 12, 2014.

Employer: Taqueria La Herradura LLC

Site: 6613 S. Jackson Rd., Pharr, Texas

Employer name: Peconic Recycling & Transfer Corp., 560 Commerce Rd., Cutchogue, N.Y.

Citations issued: On Dec. 29, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Peconic Recycling for one willful and 11 serious violations of workplace safety standards at the company’s recycling facility in Cutchogue.

Employer name: Fukuvi USA Inc., Huber Heights, Ohio

Citations received: Dec. 21, 2015

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Cincinnati Area Office cited the plastic extrusion manufacturer for one willful safety violation for failing to install machine guarding on a puller machine.

State: Washington

Type of Award: National Dislocated Worker Grant supplemental funding

Supplemental Amount Released: $2,500,000

Initial Award Amount Released: $2,888,266

Funding Awarded to: Pacific Mountain Workforce Consortium

Number of Workers Served: Approximately 1,350

State: Maine

Type of Award: National Dislocated Worker Grant

Supplemental Amount Released: $297,838

Initial Award Amount Released: $256,696

Funding Awarded to: Maine Department of Labor

Number of Workers Served: Approximately 72

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded POWER Initiative National Dislocated Worker Grant funding of $2 million to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry to help provide reemployment services required by coal industry workers to prepare for positions in emerging and growing fields.  

BOSTON – A settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Labor and Mass Bay Electrical Corp. commits the East Boston electrical contractor to extensive corrective action to prevent future deaths and injuries and establishes a training fund in the memory of Joseph Boyd III and John Loughran, who were killed when a crane toppled in Bourne on April 12, 2014.

Employer name: Amtech Southeast LLC

Inspection site:  1142 Highway 14, Elmore, Alabama

Citations issued: On Jan.07, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued Amtech Southeast two repeated and one serious safety citation. 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the December 2015 Employment Situation report released today:

“2015 ended with still more robust job creation: 292,000 jobs, making December the second best month of the year and bringing total 2015 job growth to 2.7 million. The longest streak of private-sector job growth on record continues, now at 70 straight months with 14.1 million new jobs over that time. The unemployment rate was unchanged from November, remaining at 5.0 percent.

Employer: Bonifacio Ontiveros, doing business as Benny’s Tire and Road Service

Site: 31514 Castaic Road, Castaic, California 91384

Employer name: Financial Carrier Services Inc.

Investigation site: 13325 South Point Blvd., Charlotte, North Carolina

NAPLES, Fla. – Had his employer taken the necessary steps to fully protect him, a 32-year-old construction worker might not have suffered deadly injuries in a fall at a Naples building site on Sept. 26, 2015.

Selvin Velasquez, a residential framer, was working at a new residence at Marbella Isles on Monticello Boulevard when he lost his balance and fell from 19 feet to the ground below. Velasquez was transported to a hospital where he later succumbed.