November 10, 2016

Roofing company cited after 47-year-old laborer dies after suffering heat stroke on third day on the job

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Federal investigators have cited a Jefferson City roofing contractor after a 47-year-old laborer collapsed on Aug. 17, 2016, and later died after being hospitalized with a core body temperature above 107 degrees.

November 10, 2016

Fuyao America Glass racks up $227K in OSHA penalties following six complaint inspections at Ohio auto glass plant in 2016

MORAINE, Ohio – Workers began making multiple complaints of unsafe working conditions at the Fuyao Glass America Inc. facility in Moraine not long after it opened in October 2015, leading to eight separate federal inspections and $226,937 in proposed penalties for the automotive glass supplier to plant brands such as Audi, Cadillac, Land Rover, Volvo and Volkswagen.

November 10, 2016

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending November 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 254,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 265,000. The 4-week moving average was 259,750, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 257,750 to 258,000.

November 9, 2016

OSHA finds New Jersey cleaning products manufacturer exposed workers to chemical, other safety and health hazards

Employer name: Santec Inc.
1420 East Linden Ave.
Linden, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Nov. 4, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the company citations for 11 serious and one other-than-serious violation.

November 7, 2016

Florida plastic recycler pays $424K in back wages to 195 employees after US Labor Department investigation finds FLSA violations

Employer name: Ravago Americas LLC

Investigation site: 1900 Summit Blvd., #900
Orlando, Florida 32810

November 4, 2016

Statement of US Labor Secretary Perez on October employment numbers

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

“The American economy continued its solid recovery from the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes in October, with the addition of 161,000 jobs. All told, American businesses have added 15.5 million jobs since February 2010, and we are in the longest streak of overall job growth on record. Additionally, the unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 4.9 percent.

November 3, 2016

US Labor Department announces National Apprenticeship Week 2016

Washington – Employers, unions, community colleges, and others are hosting hundreds of open houses and other events to commemorate the second annual National Apprenticeship Week, Nov. 14-20, 2016. The department’s call to action is to register 600 events to double last year’s number.

November 3, 2016

ERISA Advisory Council to present recommendations Nov. 9-10

WASHINGTON – The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council, will meet at U.S. Department of Labor headquarters Nov. 9-10, 2016, to finalize their recommendations and to receive an update from the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

The council has scheduled the EBSA update tentatively for the afternoon of Nov. 10.

November 3, 2016

OSHA cites both South Dakota refinery, construction companies after worker suffers fatal burns when ethanol ignites during expansion project

HUDSON, S.D. – Federal investigators found multiple safety violations at a South Dakota ethanol refinery expansion project after a 38-year-old pipefitter suffered fatal burn injuries when ethanol spilled from a process pipe he was working on and was ignited by flames from nearby welding operations.

November 3, 2016

Job Corps launches pilot to increase college readiness, retention in partnership with The Tom Joyner Foundation

WASHINGTON The Job Corps program and national non-profit the Tom Joyner Foundation have entered into an innovative pilot partnership to help prepare students achieve greater success in college, the U.S. Department of Labor announced today.

November 3, 2016

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending October 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 265,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 258,000. The 4-week moving average was 257,750, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 253,000.

November 2, 2016

OSHA finds Arkansas steel wire company failed repeatedly to protect workers from amputation hazards

Employer Name: Bekaert Corp.
1881 Bekaert Drive
Van Buren, Arkansas

Citations Issued: Nov. 2, 2016

November 1, 2016

US Labor Department releases advance copies of 2016 Form 5500 Annual Return/Report

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation today released advance informational copies of the 2016 Form 5500 annual return/report and related instructions.

November 1, 2016

OSHA focuses on reducing amputations suffered by Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas workers

DALLAS – For manufacturing industry workers, amputation is serious risk and the cause of more than a 1,400 serious injuries each year. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration received reports of more than 2,600 amputations nationwide – 57 percent of them suffered by manufacturing workers.

Most often, amputations occur when workers operate machines without proper or adequately safety guards.

November 1, 2016

Eight times since 2011, federal safety inspectors find Central Florida contractor exposing workers to dangerous, potentially deadly falls

Employer name: Collis Roofing Inc.

Inspection site: 202 Wellington Woods Ave.
Deland, Florida 32720          

November 1, 2016

US Department of Labor secures $866K judgment against fiduciaries of the California Pacific Bank’s employee benefit plan in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a judgment against San Francisco-based California Pacific Bank and four individual fiduciaries, requiring them to pay $866,840 in retirement benefits, plus interest, to employees who participated in the company’s stock ownership benefits plan.

November 1, 2016

Michigan logging company pays more than $193K in unpaid overtime wages, damages to 15 drivers, loggers for willful violations

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act consent judgment

Names of Defendants: T. R. Timber Company
Tony M. Rosenbrugh

Findings: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that T.R. Timber Company and its majority owner, Tony M. Rosenbrugh, failed to pay truck drivers and hourly employees overtime for hours worked beyond 40 in a work week in violation of the FLSA.

November 1, 2016

OSHA finds Ohio rail track repair kit manufacturer exposes workers to machine, silica, falls, noise and other hazards; proposes $159K in fines

NAPOLEON, Ohio – An Ohio manufacturer of railroad track repair kits routinely exposed its workers amputation risks and other serious injuries as they serviced and maintained industrial core machine mixers, an inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

October 31, 2016

Ohio trailer lining manufacturer faces nearly $215K in fines after OSHA finds company disabled safety devices, exposed workers to hazards

PATASKALA, Ohio – For at least two years, an Ohio manufacturer of thermoplastic lining systems for truck bodies and trailers exposed workers to the risk of amputation and other serious injury by disabling safety devices to speed production.

October 31, 2016

US Labor Department announces new online tool to help workers, employers understand medical- and disability-related leave

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today unveiled a new online tool to help employees and employers understand the medical and disability leave to which employees may be entitled to manage medical conditions and disabilities.