In the week ending October 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 246,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 3,000 from 249,000 to 246,000. The 4-week moving average was 249,250, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since November 3, 1973 when it was 244,000. The previous week's average was revised down by 750 from 253,500 to 252,750.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ‒ Five seconds is all it takes for flowing grain to engulf and trap a worker. In 60 seconds, the worker is submerged and is in serious danger of death by suffocation. More than half of all workers engulfed in grain die this way. Many others suffer permanent disability.

Employer name: Home Live Roofing LLC
936 East Calloway Roadbr> Marietta, Georgia

Inspection site:2101-2104 Jefferson on-the-Creek
Warminster, Pennsylvania

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the company one willful, two repeat and one serious safety violations on Sept. 29, 2016.

Employer: Buy Back Inc.

Locations: 1405 W. Shields Ave., Fresno
1435 S. Cedar Ave., Fresno
3190 E. Tulare St., Fresno
370 B St., Fresno
1435 Fresno St., Fresno

CHICAGO – A federal investigation has determined that an overstressed 40-ton beam fell and caused the death of a 47-year-old laborer doing demolition of Chicago’s Interstate 90 and Touhy Road overpass in April.

ARLINGTON, Va. –The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration today released data that indicates Fiscal Year 2016 was the safest year in mining history.

OAK PARK, Ill. – Less than three weeks after being cited for exposing workers to unsafe trenches, federal investigators saw a Chicago plumbing contractor exposing the same four-man crew to trenching hazards as they worked on sewer and water utilities at two locations in Oak Park on consecutive days in March 2016.

MOBILE, Ala. – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its lawsuit against Lear Corp., doing business as Renosol Seating LLC, and three of its managers in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama has been resolved. The company manufactures foam seating for the automotive industry. The department and the company have filed a joint motion with the court setting forth the resolution and asking the court to dismiss the case in light of it.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today a consent judgment requiring the owners of two Johnny Rockets restaurants in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to pay $571,460 in back wages and liquidated damages to 55 servers denied the minimum wage and overtime.

ATLANTA – Florida’s emergency workers, employers and the public at-large face potentially serious hazards as they begin to recover from Hurricane Matthew, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is urging vigilance during the cleanup.

Date of Action: Oct. 3, 2016

Type of Action: Settlement reached to resolve allegations of retaliation

Name of Defendants: Maria R. Mendez Zuniga, dba as La Iguana Restaurant #4 and Jesus Zuniga in Portland, Texas

Opportunity Title: Global Project to Promote Private Sector Investment in Workplace-Based Training Programs for Vulnerable Youth

Amount approved/awarded: $1,400,000

Funding awarded to: Global Apprenticeships Network

Purpose: To strengthen country-level business networks in support of apprenticeships for vulnerable youth

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A Syracuse roofing contractor with a history of safety violations has again exposed its employees to potentially fatal fall hazards at one of its worksites, this time in Camillus.

Employer name: Allstate Can Corp.
One Wood Hollow Road
Parsippany, New Jersey

Inspection site: One Wood Hollow Road
Parsippany, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Sept. 16, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the company citations for one willful violation and four serious violations.

In the week ending October 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 249,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 254,000. The 4-week moving average was 253,500, a decrease of 2,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 256,000. This is the lowest level for this average since December 8, 1973 when it was 252,250.

Date of Action: Sept. 9, 2016

Type of Action: Lawsuit

Name of Defendant: Wok on Wheels USA LLC, Shin Oak Investments LLC and Cedars Enterprises LLC —doing business as Wok on Wheels; owners Said Al-Haj and Rhonda Al-Haj.

Employer name: Patterson Services Inc.

Investigation site: 5800 Riverview Road
Mableton, Georgia 30126

WASHINGTON – International development company and federal contractor Chemonics International Inc. has agreed to pay $482,243 in back wages, interest and benefits to 124 African-American applicants. The agreement settles U.S. Department of Labor findings that the company discriminated on the basis of race in hiring for its professional entry-level program.

CHICAGO ‒ Thirty-six Illinois workers have died on the job since Jan. 1, 2016. An average of one life lost each week in the Prairie State.

The tragedies that befell two men are sobering reminders of preventable workplace dangers:

Event: The U.S. Department of Labor will host an outreach event for current and former nuclear weapons workers in Huntington, West Virginia, on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016. Federal representatives will present information at the meeting, about the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act and the program’s available medical benefits.