In the week ending January 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 277,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 287,000. The 4-week moving average was 275,750, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 277,000.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded POWER Initiative National Dislocated Worker Grant funding of $1,965,730 to the Virginia Community College System to help provide reemployment services required by coal industry workers to prepare for positions in emerging and growing fields.

Work-related accidents claimed 28 miners' lives, preliminary data shows

ARLINGTON, Va. – Preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration indicate that 28 miners died in 2015 in work-related accidents at the nation's mines, down from 45 in 2014. The figure represents the lowest number of mining deaths ever recorded and the first year that mining deaths dropped below 30.

Employer name: Latite Roofing and Sheet Metal LLC

Inspection sites: 9617 NW 7th Circle, Building #3; 9741 NW 7th Circle, Building #5; and 9710 SW 7th Circle, Building #10, Plantation, Florida 33324.

Citations issued: Citations were issued to the employer on Dec. 29.

Employer name: One Global Security Inc.

Investigation site: 8552 Keswick Pointe Drive, Orlando, Florida 32829

Employer name: Vartek LLC

Investigation site: 6715 North 53rd St., Tampa, Florida 33610

ATLANTA — U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigations have identified widespread violations of the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act in Georgia's restaurant industry. As a result, restaurants are paying a total of $2,277,480 in back wages and damages to more than 3,000 employees.

Date of Action: Dec. 30, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint

Name of Defendant: James M. Claxton Jr.

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, Kansas City Regional Office, resulted in the department filing a suit in federal court alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

CONCORD, N.H. — Litchfield contractor Michael Cahoon, who does business as High & Dry Roofing, knows he must protect his employees against falls and other hazards at his jobsites. Yet, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited him repeatedly for putting workers in danger of deadly and disabling falls, most recently in Manchester.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration indicate that 28 miners died in 2015 in work-related accidents at the nation's mines, down from 45 in 2014. The figure represents the lowest number of mining deaths ever recorded and the first year that mining deaths dropped below 30.

Employers: VLS, LLC doing business as Vegas Limousine Service

Sites: 1400 Commerce Street Las Vegas Nevada 89102

Employer name: Dollar General Corp. is headquartered at 100 Mission Ridge in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. The inspected store is located at 2222 Texoma Parkway, Sherman, Texas.

Citations issued: Dec. 31, 2015

Employer name: Susquehanna Supply Company Inc., is headquartered at 2 Rose Street in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The inspected location was a work site just outside Little Fishing Creek on State Route 4021 Eyers Grove Road in Millville, Pennsylvania. The bridge repair and construction company was contracted by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to rehabilitate a small steel-frame bridge over the creek.

Date of Action: Dec. 30, 2015

Type of Action: Filing of a Complaint

Names of Defendant: Earl Kaminski, AMI Associates Group Inc. 401(k) Plan

Allegations: From Oct. 1, 2008, to the present, Earl Kaminski was president and sole owner of AMI Associates Group Inc., and exercised authority and control over the management or disposition of the assets of the company's 401(k) plan.

Date of Action: Nov. 13, 2015

Type of Action: Filing of a Complaint

Names of Defendant: Carr Freight Systems Inc., Carr Freight Systems Inc. 401(k) Plan

MALVERN, Pa. — For telemarketing workers of a Malvern publishing company, deciding when to take water, bathroom and rest breaks was a matter of dollars and cents. The workers had their pay docked for virtually all time not spent making sales calls, sometimes bringing their wages below the federal minimum wage.

ARLINGTON, Va. – Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph A. Main today issued the following statement on the 10-year anniversary of the Sago Mine disaster:

"On Jan. 2, 2006, at approximately 6:30 a.m., the Sago coal mine in Tallmansville, West Virginia, exploded with 29 miners underground. Although 16 successfully escaped, 12 miners lost their lives and one was seriously injured.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph A. Main today issued the following statement on the 10-year anniversary of the Sago Mine disaster:

"On Jan. 2, 2006, at approximately 6:30 a.m., the Sago coal mine in Tallmansville, West Virginia, exploded with 29 miners underground. Although 16 successfully escaped, 12 miners lost their lives and one was seriously injured.

Date of Action: Dec. 30, 2015

Type of Action: Consent judgment

Names of Defendants: Arthur Azzari, Alex Azzari, John Azzari, Alessio Azzari Inc., and the Alessio Azzari Inc. Prevailing Wage Plan

Allegations: Based on an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Secretary of Labor filed a complaint on Dec. 28, 2015, alleging the following: