WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and the department’s Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Taryn Williams today welcomed a group of corporate employers and disability advocacy leaders recognized for their innovative approaches to fostering mental health-friendly workplaces.

MARGATE, FL – Working at the bottom of a Margate canal on April 4, 2022, a young diver was removing sand with an industrial vacuum to restore an embankment project when sediment above collapsed onto him, leaving the 22-year-old worker trapped until he drowned.

CHICAGO ­– Employing interactive online reporting tools, virtual job planning sites and new employee orientations with a commitment to safety are some of the hallmarks of the Power Construction Co.’s innovative safety and health program.

Who:   U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration South Dakota Safety Council

What: Workplace safety alliance

LEWISVILLE, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into an early resolution conciliation agreement with Sysco North Texas Inc. to resolve alleged hiring discrimination against 798 female and Black job applicants at the federal contractor’s Lewisville warehouse distribution center.

NEW BRAUNFELS, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into an early resolution conciliation agreement with Sysco Central Texas Inc. to resolve alleged hiring discrimination against 370 female and Black job applicants at the federal contractor’s New Braunfels warehouse distribution center.

In the week ending October 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 228,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 219,000. The 4-week moving average was 211,500, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 206,500.

Date of Action:          Oct. 11, 2022

Type of Action:         Employee Retirement Income Security Act consent judgement

Company/Owners:    Paramount Industrial Machining Inc., Maxwell Schwartz, Sheila Rossmann

DEDEDO, GUAM – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $17,164 in back wages from a federal subcontractor who denied full wages and benefits to eight workers providing pest control services at U.S. Air Force and Navy installations on Guam.

WHO:  Missouri Slope, Bismarck, North Dakota   

WHAT:  Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program Star Level Designation

SAVANNAH, GA – A federal workplace safety investigation into how an employee suffered a fatal electrocution while digging a shallow drainage trench under a home has found that a Savannah crawl space remediation company might have prevented the incident by following required safety standards.

JACKSON, MS - El Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. ha recuperado $44,280 en salarios atrasados y daños y perjuicios para dos empleados de un contratista de envíos a domicilio de Jackson quien no les pagaba por el trabajo que realizaban fuera de horario en sus casas.

BOSTON – A federal court has ordered two Boston restaurants to pay $195,680 in back wages and liquidated damages after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the employers willfully failed to pay some employees the minimum wage and overtime compensation the law requires. The department also levied a $14,980 civil money penalty.

JACKSON, MS – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $44,280 in back wages and liquidated damages for two employees of a Jackson ground delivery contractor who failed to compensate them for work they did off-the-clock from their homes.

GOLDSBORO, NC – A federal investigation has recovered $157,287 in back wages for 65 workers after finding that a Goldsboro-based restaurant’s pay practices denied the workers their full wages by keeping portions of their earned tips.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Mine Safety and Health Administration is hosting the annual Training Resources Applied to Mining conference at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy in Beaver, West Virginia, from Oct. 11 to 13.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Oct. 13 to help employers and workers determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

BIRMINGHAM, AL – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order to stop an Alexander City manufacturer of Hyundai and Kia auto parts from employing 13-, 14- and 15-year-old workers illegally, and to prevent the company from shipping or delivering any goods produced in violation of federal child labor laws.

IRVING, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration ordered ExxonMobil Corp. to immediately reinstate two employees and pay them more than $800,000 in back wages, interest and compensatory damages. A federal whistleblower investigation found the company terminated them illegally after suspecting them of leaking information to the Wall Street Journal.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh joined other Department of Labor officials to meet with a group of immigrant workers and worker advocates in Washington on Oct. 6, 2022, to discuss the importance of protecting these workers and strengthening relationships among those committed to their well-being.