WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $750,000 competitive solicitation for a project to strengthen respect for worker rights in the country of Georgia. The project will advance worker rights primarily through activities to improve the ability of worker organizations to engage effectively with the government and employers.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $2.5 million grant to assist about 650 individuals who were laid off because of the closure of Harrah's Casino Tunica resort, located in Tunica, Mississippi.

"The closure of this resort will have a significant economic impact on the lives of families in the area," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "This funding will help provide a wide range of reemployment services to prepare these former workers for good jobs in high-demand industries."

ATLANTA — Pablo Lopez of Norcross has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for three repeat and one serious safety violation following inspections at two work sites in Milton and Smyrna where employees were performing roofing work without fall protection. The inspections began in February and April 2014 as part of the agency's Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today it will publish a proposed rule that would amend its existing civil penalty regulations by simplifying the criteria for assessing health and safety violations and increasing emphasis on more serious safety and health conditions, thus providing improved safety and health for miners. The proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register on July 31.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $10 million competitive solicitation for a project to address exploitative child labor in Ethiopia.

The project must meet the following criteria:

Date of Action: July 22, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Order and Judgment

Name of Defendant: Stephen Schneider, fiduciary to the Pinnacle Telemarketing Inc. 401(k) Plan in Kaiser and Lebanon, Mo.       

ALBANY, N.Y. — Workers at Keymark Corp.'s aluminum extruding plant on Route 334 in Fonda were exposed to the hazardous substance chromium, high noise levels and falls of up to 17 feet due to the employer's failure to provide and ensure proper safeguards.

BOSTON — Employees of P. Gioioso & Sons Inc. were exposed to possible electrocution from working close to energized power lines at a Cambridge work site where required safeguards were not used. A May 9 inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that employees used a trench rod and a fiberglass pole with a metal end to lift overhead power lines, so that workers could move excavating equipment under the lines and onto the work site. The Hyde Park contractor faces $70,290 in proposed fines

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today released a mid-year summary of mining deaths across the country. During the first half of 2014, 22 miners were killed in accidents in the mining industry. The toll represents an increase in the mid-year fatality count and reverses a decline in fatal accidents seen in recent years.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez released the following statement on the five-year anniversary of the last increase in the federal minimum wage:

"It's been exactly five years since workers at the bottom of the income ladder have gotten a raise. Since then, the cost of a gallon of milk, a week of child care, a month's rent and everything else a working family needs has gone up. But the federal minimum wage remains frozen at $7.25 per hour.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 186 citations, 25 orders and one safeguard during special impact inspections conducted at 11 coal mines and two metal and nonmetal mines in June.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, known as the ERISA Advisory Council, will meet Tuesday, Aug. 19, through Thursday, Aug. 21. Council members will hear testimony from invited witnesses and receive an update from the Employee Benefits Security Administration.

Topics for discussion and study include:

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Labor Department's Office of the Ombudsman for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Program will host two town hall meetings in Wyoming: one on Tuesday, July 29, in Casper, and the other Wednesday, July 30, in Riverton, to notify current and former U.S.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1,013,495 National Emergency Grant incremental award to continue cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of a severe storm that affected 14 counties in Arkansas on Dec. 5 and 6, 2013. These funds, awarded to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, will provide for the continuation of temporary employment for eligible individuals to assist with the cleanup of the affected areas.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1,013,495 National Emergency Grant incremental award to continue cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of a severe storm that affected 14 counties in Arkansas on Dec. 5 and 6, 2013. These funds, awarded to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, will provide for the continuation of temporary employment for eligible individuals to assist with the cleanup of the affected areas.

Date of Action: July 22, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: Gregory Fletcher, SLP Machine Simple IRA Plan.

WAYNE, N.J. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited fashion retail chain Forever 21 for exposing employees to serious safety hazards at its store in Wayne. OSHA inspected the store in January 2014 after receiving a complaint alleging dangerous conditions. It proposed $158,000 in penalties for three repeat violations.

BILLINGS, Mont. — Following a major hailstorm on May 18 and a resulting increase in construction, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is extending enforcement activity and asks for Billings-area employers, workers and consumers to protect roofing and construction workers against fall hazards. The Weekend Work Initiative aims to increase workplace surveillance of construction fall hazards and other dangers to prevent employee injuries and fatalities.

NEWARK, N.J. — United Airlines Inc. has exposed ground operation workers at the Newark airport to hazardous conditions, prompting the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue 16 citations and propose penalties of $101,300.

Date of Action: July 17, 2014

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Richard J. Campbell; Venice Catering of Berlin Inc., and Venice Catering of Berlin Inc. 401(k) 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 alleging the following: