October 2, 2024

Department of Labor expands grain handling safety emphasis program to address continued deaths, injuries in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska

KANSAS CITY, MOThe U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched a regional emphasis program to address worker safety in the highly hazardous grain handling industry as preventable injuries and unchecked hazards continue to be a serious concern for workers in the region. The program in Missouri is identical to programs already in place in Kansas and Nebraska.

October 2, 2024

Department of Labor orders railroad to reinstate employee, pay $200K in back wages, damages after retaliation for safety complaints

ENDERLIN, ND – A federal whistleblower investigation has found a North Dakota railroad company illegally retaliated against and terminated a claims representative who reported an injury, discussed safety concerns with their supervisor and filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor. 

October 2, 2024

US Department of Labor announces over $1M in grants awarded to support mine safety, health awareness; education, training

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $1 million in grants to seven organizations in five states to support education and training initiatives that will help identify and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around the nation’s mines.

October 2, 2024

AB Specialty Silicones must pay $1.3M federal penalty, implement comprehensive safety programs after 2019 Waukegan plant explosion

WAUKEGAN, IL – Chemical products manufacturer AB Specialty Silicones LLC will pay $1.3 million in penalties after an explosion and fire at its Waukegan plant in May 2019 claimed the lives of four workers. 

October 1, 2024

Statement from Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on negotiations between USMX, International Longshoremen’s Association

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement on negotiations between USMX and the International Longshoremen’s Association:

October 1, 2024

US Department of Labor restructures OSHA regional offices, merging San Francisco, Seattle regions to improve operations

SAN FRANCISCO –  The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has completed changes to restructure its regional operations and created a region to better protect workers and educate employers as businesses expand and workforces grow in communities in several southeastern states.

October 1, 2024

US Department of Labor announces $20M in grants available for out-of-school time organizations to increase access to good jobs for underserved youth

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of up to $20 million in grants for national out-of-school time organizations to expand local work-based learning opportunities, job training and career pathways for underserved youth after school and during the summer.

October 1, 2024

US Department of Labor, New Jersey Department of Labor strategic enforcement initiative combats illegal child labor

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development have launched a joint strategic enforcement initiative to combat violations of federal and state child labor laws.

September 30, 2024

Minimum wages in American Samoa increase by 40 cents per hour

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa – Workers on American Samoa employed in industries covered by the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 will receive a 40-cent increase in their hourly wage beginning Sept. 30.

September 30, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers $24K in fringe benefits, paid sick leave for 13 employees of Virginia rehabilitation, nursing care center

Employer:                                          

Hopewell Operator LLC, operating as Wonder City Rehabilitation and Nursing Center

September 30, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers $154K in back wages, damages from Georgia plastics manufacturer that shortchanged 743 workers of full overtime

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $154,009 in back wages and liquidated damages from an international plastics manufacturer that willfully failed to include bonus payments when calculating overtime for 743 workers.

September 30, 2024

Department of Labor obtains order forbidding California transportation provider from retaliating against drivers, interfering with their rights

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a permanent injunction and court order forbidding a California transportation company from retaliating against drivers and illegally shifting liability for labor law violations onto workers who exercised their federally protected rights.

September 30, 2024

Department of Labor launches tool to provide workers with disabilities, employers ideas for workplace accommodations

WASHINGTON – As the nation marks National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of a new tool that provides access to more than 700 accommodation ideas for workers with disabilities and their employers.

September 30, 2024

Louisiana farm ordered to pay $12K in civil penalties, debarred from H-2A program participation for threatening farmworkers, denying them water

ROSEDALE, LA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order assessing the operator of a Rosedale farm $12,000 in civil money penalties and preventing the Louisiana employers from applying for H-2A certification to bring foreign workers to the U.S. to fill temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs for one year, after investigators found the farm’s operator intimidated and threatened workers in violation of the law. 

September 30, 2024

US Department of Labor completed August 2024 impact inspections at 14 mines with repeated health, safety violations, issued 253 violations

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections at 14 mines in 10 states in August 2024, issuing 253 violations.

The agency began conducting impact inspections after an April 2010 explosion in West Virginia at the Upper Big Branch Mine killed 29 miners.

September 30, 2024

US Department of Labor sues Puerto Rico security guard company for misclassifying employees as independent contractors, denying overtime

Date of action:                       Sept. 24, 2024 

Type of action:                      Complaint

September 27, 2024

US Department of Labor urges workers, public in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Carolinas to be aware of hazards in recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene

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

            Emergency and recovery response crews, residents in areas affected by Hurricane Helene

September 27, 2024

Department of Labor orders Maryland trucking company to pay $46K in back wages, damages; reinstate driver who refused unsafe load

MAUGANSVILLE, MD - The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered a Maugansville transportation company to reinstate an employee and pay them $46,094 in back wages and damages after finding the employer wrongly terminated the worker for refusing to drive an oversized load in an unsafe manner.