March 25, 2021

US Department of Labor files federal complaint seeking damages for whistleblower fired for reporting unsafe conditions at Missouri plant

BRIDGETON, MO – After a production operator at a carbon fiber manufacturer brought various safety concerns to management, he approached a third-party auditor reviewing operations at the company’s St. Peters facility with his concerns. The next day, his employer suspended him.

March 25, 2021

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending March 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 684,000, a decrease of 97,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 11,000 from 770,000 to 781,000. The 4-week moving average was 736,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,750 from 746,250 to 749,000.

March 24, 2021

Worker’s injury at Fargo grain bin yields employer’s commitment to improve workplace safety, protect employees

FARGO, ND – A North Dakota seed production company has committed to changing its safety procedures and training following a worker’s severe and life-altering injury in 2020.

March 24, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $19K for 24 employees of Gulf Breeze restaurant after investigation uncovers minimum wage, overtime violations

GULF BREEZE, FL For low-wage earners, every minute spent working equals much-needed income. When employers fail to account for all the hours employees work, as was the case with a Gulf Breeze restaurant, these workers find it more difficult to provide for themselves and their families.

March 23, 2021

US Department of Labor announces proposed rulemakings to further consider, review tipped workers’ regulations

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking related to tipped workers as the effective date approaches for the “Tip Regulations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” final rule, published in December 2020.

March 22, 2021

Statement by Marty J. Walsh following Senate confirmation of his appointment as 29th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Senate voted, on a bipartisan basis, to confirm Marty J. Walsh as the 29th Secretary of Labor.

“I am incredibly honored and privileged to serve as the United States’ next Secretary of Labor. I am grateful for the bipartisan support of members of the Senate, and I want to thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for their confidence in my ability to lead the Department of Labor during such a critical time in our nation’s history.

March 22, 2021

Pontiac, Michigan, grocer will pay $95K in overtime back wages to 14 workers after US Department of Labor investigation

PONTIAC, MI – While its shelves stocked with imported Hispanic food favorites make Pontiac’s Carnival Market a destination grocery for Detroit metro shoppers, a federal investigation has found the employer shortchanged its cashiers, bakers and dishwashers of wages they legally earned.

March 22, 2021

US Department of Labor announces $31M funding opportunity to create Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Centers of Excellence

WASHINGTON, DCThe U.S. Department of Labor announced today the availability of approximately $31 million in funds to establish Registered Apprenticeship Technical Assistance Centers of Excellence to support the expansion and modernization of technical assistance available in the registered apprenticeship system.

March 22, 2021

US Department of Labor launches website for victims of unemployment fraud

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today launched a new website for people to understand unemployment insurance identity theft, and how and where to report stolen benefits if they are victims.

March 22, 2021

US Department of Labor wins consent judgment requiring traffic control company to pay employees for time spent transporting co-workers

NILES, MI – A recent court order requires one of the nation’s largest traffic control companies to pay road flaggers in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio for time they spend transporting their co-workers in a company truck to and from job sites at the company’s request.

March 22, 2021

Oregon buffet restaurant to pay $417K in back wages to 39 workers after US Department of Labor finds minimum wage and overtime violations

BEAVERTON, OR – A Beaverton buffet restaurant may offer its customers a wide variety of selections, but a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found the eatery’s owner willfully failed to include legally required wage on its menu for the people who worked there.

March 22, 2021

Pittsylvania County health care services provider pays $139K in back wages after US Labor Department investigation finds overtime violations

DANVILLE, VA – Most home health care workers put in long hours and earn low wages as they meet the needs of parents, grandparents, elderly friends and the chronically ill. For dozens of employees of a Danville home health care company shortchanged on their overtime wages, making ends meet gets even harder.

March 22, 2021

US Department of Labor announces proposed 18-month delay to prevailing wage rule affecting certain immigrants, non-immigrants

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that it has proposed an 18-month delay in the effective date of a final rule on calculating prevailing wages of certain immigrants and non-immigrant workers.

March 22, 2021

Hampstead contractor pays $87K in back wages, $19K penalty after failed attempt to obscure records to withhold overtime wages owed to 28 employees

MANCHESTER, NH – A Hampstead contractor falsified pay records to mask its failure to pay workers the required overtime wages they earned, but the outcome of a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has set the record straight.

March 19, 2021

Las Vegas plastering company will pay $137K in overtime back wages to 156 piece rate employees after US Department of Labor investigation

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas plastering company will pay $137,174 in back wages owed to 156 employees after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found violations of the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

March 18, 2021

OSHA alliance with West Virginia University Safety & Health Extension, West Virginia State Consultation Program promotes workplace safety, health

CHARLESTON, WV – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has signed a two-year alliance with West Virginia University Safety & Health Extension and West Virginia State Consultation Program to provide safety and health information, guidance and training to OSHA Training Institute Education Center participants.

March 18, 2021

Virginia pizza restaurant pays $11K penalty after US Department of Labor finds employer illegally employed six 17-year-old minors as delivery drivers

GAINESVILLE, VAFor 17-year-old drivers, the Centers for Disease Control cites inexperience, distracted driving, and night and weekend driving as factors that place them among those with the highest risk for motor vehicle crashes. Putting drivers this age behind the wheel to make “as soon as possible” deliveries also violates federal child labor laws, a fact ignored by the operators of a Virginia pizza restaurant.  

March 18, 2021

Michigan commercial cleaning company to pay $56K in back wages, $51K in penalties for violations of guest worker visa requirements

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – The H-2B Visa program exists to help supply employers with temporary foreign workers they need while protecting U.S. workers’ access to the same jobs. The program does not permit employers to misuse the program and not pay foreign and U.S. workers the same legally required wages.

March 18, 2021

US Department of Labor announces availability of $87.5M in funding to states to expand, diversify Registered Apprenticeship Programs

WASHINGTON, DCThe U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of approximately $87.5 million for grants to expand Registered Apprenticeships across the nation, with up to $40 million of those funds in grants awarded to states that implement required diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and demonstrate their commitment to adopt, expand and promote these efforts.

March 18, 2021

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending March 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 770,000, an increase of 45,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 13,000 from 712,000 to 725,000. The 4-week moving average was 746,250, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 3,250 from 759,000 to 762,250.