WASHINGTON – To help states build systems to prevent and detect future fraud more effectively, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of up to $200 million in grants funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

In the week ending April 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 230,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 245,000 to 246,000. The 4-week moving average was 236,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 239,750 to 240,000.

Employer:     

Dyersburg Grecian Steakhouse Inc., operating as Grecian Steakhouse

2265 St. John Ave.

Dyersburg, TN 38024

WEST COVINA, CA – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $78,472 in back wages and liquidated damages for 54 guards employed by a West Covina security company that denied them overtime pay illegally and then attempted to conceal the overtime hours by recording them falsely as training, bonuses, commissions and reimbursements.

PHILADELPHIA −The U.S. Department of Labor will host a webinar for home care workers, industry employers and other stakeholders about workers’ rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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

Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association Inc.

Wisconsin Safety and Health Consultation Program 

WASHINGTON – To help identify and address barriers workers face in accessing state unemployment insurance benefits, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $2,283,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

HOUSTON – A Houston-area contractor’s repeated failure to follow federal workplace safety procedures during excavation operations contributed to a worker’s death near Manvel in October 2022, a federal workplace safety investigation has found.   

PITI, GUAM ‒ A federal inspection found that a ship repair company might have prevented the death of a rigger at the Port of Guam in November 2022 had they followed legally required safety standards for operating cranes.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2023-01 with frequently asked questions on the annual funding notice requirements for multiemployer pension plans that received special financial assistance under the American Rescue Plan Act.

BOSTON, MA – A federal administrative law judge has determined that UHS of Delaware Inc. and UHS of Fuller Inc. exposed their employees at Fuller Hospital in Attleboro to workplace violence without adequate protections in 2019, particularly at times when hospital staffing was low. Fuller Hospital is a 102-bed behavioral health facility that provides acute inpatient hospitalization for adolescents and adults.

PHILADELPHIA – A federal court has entered a consent judgment requiring a Philadelphia home care agency and its owner to pay more than $410,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 55 employees after an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in federal court requiring the operators of five pizza franchise locations in Illinois and Indiana to pay $250,000 in back wages and damages in its effort to recover unpaid overtime wages for 35 restaurant and delivery employees.

FORT MYERS, FL – While a Fort Myers restaurant operator’s choice to deny 75 servers all of their hard-earned tips may not be an uncommon violation of federal law, the decision comes with familiar and costly consequences after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

BOSTON – Not keeping track of how many hours employees under age 16 worked and allowing some to operate a dangerous machine has proved costly for the Berkley, Massachusetts-based operator of 18 Dunkin’ franchise locations in Bristol, Norfolk and Plymouth counties after a U.S. Department Labor investigation.

PROVIDENCE, RI – Dollar Tree Stores Inc.’s failure to provide safe work conditions at two Rhode Island stores – violations of U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards – exposed employees to serious risks and injuries.

WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement is applauding a report by the government of Mexico on April 20, 2023, detailing steps taken to address allegations that the Unique Fabricating facility in Querétaro, Mexico, denied workers’ rights.

Participants:

U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Moss & Associates LLC

University of South Florida On-Site Consultation Program

What:  Strategic Partnership agreement

Date of action:                       April 17, 2023

Type of action:                      Consent preliminary injunction

Participants:

U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Brasfield & Gorrie Construction

What: Safety alliance agreement