WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs has announced a $13 million competitive solicitation for cooperative agreements to combat exploitative child labor in Peru, including supporting efforts to address poverty and promote social inclusion.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs has awarded $1.5 million to Development Alternatives International Inc. of Bethesda, Md., to extend the existing Vietnam Industrial Relations Promotion Project by an additional two years. The first phase of the project was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor is notifying former workers of 25 facilities located in Ohio about benefits that may be available to them under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act administered by the department's Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation. Survivors of qualified workers also may be entitled to benefits.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor is notifying former workers of six facilities located in Wisconsin about benefits that may be available to them under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act administered by the department's Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation. Survivors of qualified workers also may be entitled to benefits.

Date of Action:  Oct. 7, 2011

Type of Action:  Consent order and judgment

Names of Defendant: James and Carrie Jendusa, individually and as a fiduciaries to the Jendusa Engineering Associates Inc. 401(k) Plan

Allegations: The Jendusas, in their capacity as fiduciaries to the Jendusa Engineering Associates, Inc. 401(k) Plan, failed to ensure that $10,441.53 in participant contributions for the period of Jan. 1, 2007, through Feb. 15, 2008, were forwarded to the plan.

DICKERSON, Md. – Neutron Products Inc. President Jackson A. Ransohoff and Treasurer James W. Jordan will restore $100,000 to the company’s employee savings plan, according to the terms of a consent judgment that resolves a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit.

The suit alleged that the defendants, who are the plan’s trustees, violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by failing to collect and remit amounts owed to the plan by the company from January 1990 to September 2010.

PITTSBURGH — The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Sterling Printing and its president, John Louis Roberts, as well as Mara Scanlon Roberts, chief executive officer of M.R. Graphics LLC, for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by failing to remit worker contributions to a 401(k) plan serving the employees of both Pittsburgh companies.

Date of Action:  Oct. 3, 2011

Name(s) of Defendant(s):  BHMA LLC

Date of Action: Oct. 6, 2011

Type of Action:  Complaint

Names of Defendant: Glen Zucker, individually and as a fiduciary to the Grant Saint John 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan; Truprint Services, Inc. d.b.a. Grant Saint John; and Grant Saint John 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the September 2011 Employment Situation report released today:

GAINESVILLE, Ga. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Candler Concrete Products Inc. for 19 safety and health violations following an inspection of the company's Gainesville plant, which was initiated under OSHA's Site-Specific Targeting Program for industries with high occupational injury and illness rates. Proposed penalties total $120,370.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending October 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 401,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 395,000. The 4-week moving average was 414,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average of 418,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent for the week ending September 24, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate.

WASHINGTON – The most up-to-date employment data and economic news releases from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics and its Employment and Training Administration now can be viewed using a new mobile application.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement calling on Congress to create export-driven jobs by ratifying free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, and to pass a robust Trade Adjustment Assistance program:

"For the sake of our economic recovery, we must open new markets to American-made goods and services. These three agreements are the result of intensive negotiations that put America first. They'll ensure that we're exporting American products, not paychecks, abroad.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement to mark National Domestic Violence Awareness Month:

"This month, Americans from all walks of life lock hands to send a message that this country will not tolerate domestic violence. Every day, three women in America die at the hands of a violent abuser. We must redouble our efforts to prevent these senseless tragedies.

Grants target industries in 20 states and DC that rely on H-1B visa program for skilled workers

Court yet to determine amount of wages and damages owed; more than $1.6 million sought

DAYTON, Ohio — In a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor against Cascom Inc. and president Julia J. Gress alleging wage violations, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas M. Rose has ruled that the Fairfield, Ohio, company violated federal labor laws by misclassifying its employees as independent contractors and, consequently, not compensating them for overtime work, as required under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, joined by Sen. Tom Harkin, today released three new reports on child labor and forced labor, and announced $32.5 million in grants to combat child labor around the world.

MEDIA, Pa. – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against now defunct J.M. Singley & Associates Inc. of Media and the trustees of the company’s 401(k) plan, J. Brant Singley and Bradly Weiss, for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. 

National competition marks 100 years and 60 since it was last held in Columbus, Ohio