OSHA issues warning letter to industry following series of similar incidents including suffocation last week of 2 teenagers in Illinois grain elevator

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a $419,150 National Emergency Grant increment to continue to provide services to about 475 workers affected by layoffs across multiple industries in the St. Louis region of Missouri.

"Today's grant will continue to help these Missourians with job placement assistance, skills training and other re-employment services to get started in new careers," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a $633,085 National Emergency Grant supplemental award to Missouri to continue providing services to workers affected by layoffs in the state's automotive industry.

"Missouri's auto workers who have been laid off need and deserve job placement, training and other services that will help them gain employment in other industries," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "This grant will provide that assistance."

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that approximately 9,000 workers from companies in 19 states are eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance. The companies are in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Blackstone, Virginia – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, has issued a default judgment against OSF America Inc. removing the former Blackstone company as fiduciary of its tax deferred savings plan.

Asian Journal agrees to pay nearly $516,500 to 32 employees plus a $40,000 penalty

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it has debarred Asian Journal Publications from using the H-1B visa program to hire temporary workers.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced the availability of approximately $2.3 million in funding for the Add Us In initiative, which will fund up to four cooperative agreements with allotments ranging from $500,000 to $625,000 each.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has launched a new online index for locating individual exemptions granted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

This new online index lets people search by subject matter for individual exemptions granted from 1996 through 2010. For example, the index catalogues exemptions relating to captive reinsurance, co-investing, collateralized mortgage obligations, leases and in-kind contributions.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced that the U.S. government has requested labor consultations with the Government of Guatemala under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). This is the first time that the United States has requested consultations under the labor chapter of a U.S. free trade agreement.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced its intention to withdraw the proposed regulation on the definition of a welfare benefit plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act from review by the Office of Management and Budget.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending July 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 457,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 468,000. The 4-week moving average was 452,500, a decrease of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average of 457,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.6 percent for the week ending July 17, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.5 percent.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — In her first visit to El Salvador as U.S. Secretary of Labor, Hilda L. Solis announced a new United States government contribution of $10 million to support the Salvadoran government’s efforts to combat and eradicate child labor.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that Kansas City Chiefs' running back Thomas Jones has become a spokesman for the agency's annual "Stay Out-Stay Alive" public safety campaign, launched in 1999 to warn outdoor enthusiasts, especially children, about the dangers of playing on mine property. Each year, dozens of people are injured or killed in recreational accidents at active and abandoned mine sites.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that it is issuing a new rule addressing the use of cranes and derricks in construction, which will replace a decades-old standard. Approximately 267,000 construction, crane rental and crane certification establishments employing about 4.8 million workers will be affected by the rule published today.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a $4 million National Emergency Grant award to assist cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of severe storms and flooding that struck Puerto Rico in May 2010.

"The severe storms that battered Puerto Rico earlier this year left the island's residents in need of our help," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "This grant will support ongoing recovery efforts and help Puerto Ricans return their lives to normalcy."

TAMPA, Fla. — Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, GeoPharma Inc. has agreed to pay $1,360,098 in back wages to 187 employees for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

"Employees have the right to expect that they will receive full pay on time for their work, and the Labor Department will not sit by while employers attempt to evade their responsibilities," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Philadelphia – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will sponsor “Getting It Right – Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities,” a free retirement plan seminar on September 15 at the Radisson Plaza Warwick Hotel, 1701 Locust Street.

JINOTEGA, Nicaragua — U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis saw first-hand the work of the U.S. Department of Labor-funded ENTERATE project during her July 26 visit to the coffee plantation Los Potrerillos in Jinotega. This project works to combat child labor in Jinotega, Madriz and Managua.

Crestview, Florida – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Robert S. Caputo, his medical group, trustees of the group’s pension plan, the plan’s accounting firm, and an accountant for improperly using $800,000 in plan assets to pay company expenses, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

RENO, Nev. – In the event of a mine fire, roof collapse or explosion, mine rescue teams may be tapped to search for colleagues disoriented by toxic gas, trapped beneath layers of rock or severely injured. The teams undergo rigorous training to develop skills that often save lives. Those skills will be put to the test July 27 through 29 at the 2010 Metal/Nonmetal National Mine Rescue Contest, held at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada. The contest is sponsored by the U.S.