WEST POINT, MS – West Point Fast Break Inc. – a gas station and convenience store based in West Point, Mississippi – will pay $29,726 in back wages to 15 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

CHICAGO, IL – The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has sentenced Lake County, Illinois-based business owner Richard Booy, to serve five years imprisonment followed by an additional three years of supervised release, and to make $1,439,678 million in restitution for defrauding his clients in a Ponzi-type scheme totaling approximately $2 million. As a result of the the March 18, 2019 sentencing, Booy is statutorily barred from serving as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

LOS ANGELES, CA – Rito Alcala, a Littlerock, California, trucking company has paid $108,762 in back wages and benefits to 46 employees after the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found the company violated federal contract provisions of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA).

GAINESVILLE, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Hiebert Bros Construction LLC for exposing employees to fall hazards after a worker was injured from a 26-foot fall at a construction worksite in Gainesville, Florida. The company faces penalties of $56,828.

DAYTON, OH – A Dayton, Ohio mental health and drug rehabilitation center has paid $48,698 in overtime back wages to 47 employees after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta today issued the following statement regarding the March 2019 Employment Situation report:

"The March jobs report exceeded expectations with 196,000 new jobs created. Adding upward revisions of 14,000 jobs from the past two months, means that more than 5.1 million jobs have been created since January 2017.

In the week ending March 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 202,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since December 6, 1969 when it was 202,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 211,000 to 212,000. The 4-week moving average was 213,500, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 217,250 to 217,500.

DENVER, CO – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has signed a two-year alliance with the Colorado On-Site Health & Safety Consultation Program, the Brewers Association, the Master Brewers Association of the Americas, and the Colorado Brewers Guild, to promote employee safety in Colorado's brewing industry.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is conducting a statewide wage survey in Utah to help establish prevailing wage rates as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA). WHD urges all highway construction employers in Utah to participate.

MALVERN, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking current or former employees of American Future Systems - doing business as Progressive Business Publications - who may be owed a portion of $1,916,000 in back wages and liquidated damages recovered by the Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD). American Future Systems is the parent company of Progressive Business Publications, a Malvern, Pennsylvania, direct-marketing company that publishes subscription-driven, business-to-business newsletters and other publications.

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor has launched a new resource that helps employers better understand mental health issues, and provides guidance on how to cultivate a work environment that supports employees with related conditions.

SYRACUSE, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Remington Arms Company LLC – based in Madison, North Carolina – for 27 violations of workplace safety and health standards after an employee's fingertip was amputated while working on a broaching machine at its Ilion, New York, manufacturing plant. The arms manufacturer faces $210,132 in penalties.

JACKSONVILLE, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Florida Roofing Experts Inc. for exposing employees to fall hazards at a Jacksonville, Florida, worksite. The company faces the maximum penalty allowed of $132,598.

DENVER, CO - The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will present an educational forum about developments in its policies and regulations, and its Payroll Audit Independent Determination Program (PAID), in Denver, Colorado, on April 3, 2019.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it has issued three new opinion letters that address compliance issues related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). An opinion letter is an official, written opinion by the Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) on how a particular law applies in specific circumstances presented by the individual person or entity that requested the letter.

The opinion letters issued today are:

WARREN, OH – To raise awareness about the hazards in the trenching and excavation industry, including potentially deadly trench collapses, U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) representatives will participate in Trenching Safety Day on April 3, 2019, in Warren, Ohio.

CHICAGO, IL – To raise awareness about the hazards in the trenching and excavation industry, including potentially deadly trench collapses, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is joining with industry leaders, union leaders, and safety professionals for three Trench Safety Conferences, April 9-11, 2019, in the Chicago area.

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a new pilot program for discretionary suspensions and debarments to ensure accountability and protect the federal government from doing business with those who engage in inappropriate or illegal conduct.

Discretionary suspensions and debarments make individuals or organizations ineligible for federal contracting and transactions with the federal government typically for up to 12 months for a suspension and up to three years for a debarment.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an opioid-crisis Dislocated Worker Grant (DWG) to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training for up to $3,988,971, with $1,329,657 released initially. This grant will provide disaster relief jobs and employment services to eligible individuals in Rhode Island impacted by the health and economic effects of widespread opioid use, addiction, and overdose.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta today was joined by Americans from around the nation to discuss pathways for those exiting the justice system to reenter the workforce.