LA PORTE, Texas — In November 2014, a worker was overcome at a DuPont chemical manufacturing facility when a supply line unexpectedly released more than 20,000 lbs. of methyl mercaptan, a deadly chemical.Three co-workers came to the worker's aid in an attempted rescue, but all four were asphyxiated fatally by the colorless, flammable, and highly toxic gas.

RICHLAND, Wash. — Former U.S. Department of Energy contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Hanford site in Richland may qualify for a presumption of causation if they are included in a designated Special Exposure Cohort class of employees, and diagnosed with one of 22 specified cancers. The change comes after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services amended its Special Exposure Cohort in May 2015. This SEC designation took effect on June 21, 2015.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor along with other federal agencies will host two town hall meetings on July 23 in Amarillo, Texas. The meetings will provide current and former nuclear weapons workers, including those employed at the Pantex Plant, with information regarding benefits available to them under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.

WASHINGTON — Former employees of the Grand Junction Facilities site in Grand Junction, Colorado, and the Dow Chemical Co. site in Pittsburg, California, may qualify for a presumption of causation if they are included in a designated Special Exposure Cohort class of employees and diagnosed with one of 22 specified cancers. The change comes after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services amended its Special Exposure Cohort in May 2015.

SAN ANTONIO — Tipped employees may know the value of a hard-earned dollar better than anyone. Every dollar counts in their profession because tips account for all but a small portion of hourly wages. So, when they receive improper minimum wage and overtime pay, it stings. For 82 waiters and kitchen employees of China Sea Restaurants in San Antonio, this happened.

Date of Action: July 1, 2015

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Howard Lapensohn; Lapensohn Accounting Professionals LLC; and Lapensohn Accounting Professionals LLC SIMPLE 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:

Date and Time: Thursday, July 16, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT

Location:

Charlotte Mecklenburg Main Library Francis Auditorium 310 North Tryon Street Charlotte, North Carolina 28202 (The closest parking is at the 7th Street Station parking deck)

NEW YORK — Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in New York has agreed to implement and maintain a comprehensive program to safeguard its employees better against assaults and other on-the-job violence after a patient assaulted a nurse at the Brooklyn facility in 2014.

Employer name: HB&G Building Products Inc.

Inspection site: 1015 Brundidge Boulevard, Troy, Alabama 36081

Date citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on June 29, 2015. The inspection was initiated in March 2015, as part of the agency's Site Specific Targeting Program.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration is soliciting nominations to fill five, 3-year vacancies on the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council. The deadline to submit nominations is July 31.

OSHA fines New Homes Construction Inc. $40,480

Employer Name and Location: New Homes Construction Inc. is a general contractor located at 739 Bordentown Road in Burlington, New Jersey. The investigation was conducted at Wildflowers at Medford, an active adult community at 12 Montclaire Road, Lot 19, in Medford, New Jersey.

OSHA fines 2 employers more than $196K

Employers' names: The investigation was conducted at Sterling Seating Inc.'s furniture manufacturing plant at 9 Porete Avenue in North Arlington, New Jersey. On Target Staffing LLC, a staffing company that provided laborers for Sterling, is located at 258 Clifton Avenue in Newark, New Jersey.

Employer name: Valley International Cold Storage LLC

Location: Harlingen, Texas

WASHINGTON — With the release of the June 2015 Employment Situation Report today, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez says there are five things you should know about its numbers:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Restaurant workers put in long, grueling hours on-the-job, yet they are among the lowest paid workers in the U.S. Making ends meet is hard enough when they're paid properly, but it's nearly impossible when their employer does not pay them for all hours worked.

TAMPA, Fla. — After the horrific murder of a Florida health care worker in 2012, an administrative law judge affirmed in June that her employer failed to protect her from workplace violence.

ISLAND LAKE, Ill. — A 32-year-old machinist suffered serious injuries to his left arm caused when his hand was caught and he was pulled into a machine on which his employer had bypassed safety devices designed to prevent such injuries. The worker has endured several surgeries and rehabilitation to repair his broken bones.

NEW YORK — Corizon Health Inc., which provides medical, dental and mental-health services to inmates at correctional facilities nationwide, including the Rikers Island facility in New York City, will implement changes to reduce workplace violence hazards for employees at its locations.

Date of Action: June 29, 2015

Name(s) of Defendant: Thomas Cullen, Thomas E. Moore Inc., and Thomas Moore/Video Scene of Delaware Simple IRA 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:

INDIANAPOLIS — The great service, authentic Mexican food and unique groceries found at three Carniceria Guanajuato Mexican grocery stores and restaurants in Indianapolis inspire customers to post rave reviews at websites like Yelp and Urbanspoon.

Behind their smiles, the hard-working people who bake specialty breads, butcher prime meat, wait and bus tables and operate the registers at these establishments struggle to meet basic needs on the low wages earned. Their challenge only worsens when their employer does not pay them for all hours worked.