KANSAS CITY, Mo. — BNSF Railway Co. has been found in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA's investigation upheld allegations that the company disciplined an employee assigned to its station in Ottumwa, Iowa, for following a physician's treatment plan.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today released a summary of U.S. mining deaths that occurred during the third quarter of 2014. From July 1 to Sept. 30, eight miners were killed in accidents at work, including five in metal and nonmetal mining and three in coal mining. In that same period in 2013, nine miners died in mining accidents.

DETROIT — Hot Wheel City Inc. and general manager Nael Abouna signed a consent judgment agreeing to pay 61 Detroit-area employees $97,500 in unpaid wages and damages to resolve a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Labor. The lawsuit, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, was the result of an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division. The investigation determined that the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay employees minimum wage and overtime and by failing to keep required records.

ARPIN, Wis. — The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Carl's Landscape Service Inc. in Arpin, alleging that the company retaliated against two workers for contacting the department's Wage and Hour Division with a complaint about unpaid overtime.

HOUSTON, Texas — Prime Communications LP, doing business as AT&T Prime Communications LP, has agreed to pay $122,254 in back wages to 255 current and former employees as a result of investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor that found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

HOUSTON, Texas — Ensign United States Drilling (S.W.) Inc. was cited with two repeat safety violations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for exposing workers to possible hazards during oil well explosions. The inspection was part of OSHA's Regional Emphasis Program for the Upstream Oil and Gas Well Industry. The repeat violations were cited for failing to correct deficiencies found during a 2011 investigation.

NEW YORK — Drivers and loading-dock workers at UniFirst Corp. were exposed to hazards that involved bloodborne pathogens and lead at its West Caldwell, New Jersey, facility, according to an administrative law judge from the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. On Sept.

HILLSIDE, Ill. — Central Transport LLC has been cited for 16 safety and health violations, including five repeat, one willful and two serious safety violations, at its trucking terminal in Hillside. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection found repeat and willful violations that involved defective powered industrial vehicles and lack of fall protection. Proposed penalties total $145,420.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 30-year-old painter was hospitalized after he received second and third degree burns when his ladder came into contact with overhead power lines. As a result, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited ShayCore Enterprises with five safety and health violations. ShayCore Enterprises was subcontracted to paint the exterior of Total Office Solutions furniture and warehouse on Emerson Street in Jacksonville.

LAS VEGAS — The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $1,914,681.50 in back wages and fringe benefits for 147 workers at Proimtu Mmi-Nv LLC, a Henderson-based subcontractor providing construction services at the federally funded Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Tonopah. This project, which received a $737 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy, is a 110 MW solar energy power plant that will power up to 75,000 homes during peak electricity periods.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council, will meet Monday, Nov. 3, and Tuesday, Nov. 4. The two-day meeting will take place at the U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20210. On Nov. 3, the meeting will take place in C-5320, Room 6, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST. On Nov. 4, the meeting will take place from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 4 p.m.

Date of Action: October 10, 2014

Type of Action: Default Judgment

Name of Defendant: Rodger D. Ferguson, Industrial Surfacing Corp., Industrial Surfacing Corp 401(k) Plan

MABLETON, Ga. — Stafford Transport Inc., a solid waste removal trucking company, has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for five safety and health violations following an inspection at the company's Mableton facility. OSHA initiated the inspection in July 2014 as part of the agency's Site-Specific Targeting Program, which directs enforcement resources to workplaces with higher-than-average rates of injuries and illnesses.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — A May 1, 2014, inspection conducted after a complaint alleging three separate fires at Quest Specialty Coatings has resulted in the issuance of eight safety violations. Many of the violations were cited under the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration Process Safety Management Standards, which contain specific requirements for managing highly hazardous chemicals in work processes.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that it has imposed a fine of $1,077,800 following its investigation into the deaths of two miners at Revenue Mine on Nov. 17, 2013. The underground silver ore mine, located in Ouray County, Colorado, was operated by Star Mine Operations LLC.

WASHINGTON — Despite concerns voiced by the mining industry that it would have trouble meeting the requirements of the rule to reduce respirable coal mine dust, approximately 99 percent of the 7,456 valid respirable dust samples collected during the first two months under the new rule met compliance levels, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo area restaurant owner Nicholas Tokles has paid 69 cooks, bartenders and servers a total of $38,425 in back wages after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions at his restaurants. A consent judgment, entered in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division, ordered the payment.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — New Haven roofing contractor employees were exposed to potentially fatal falls at a Bridgeport work site due to their employer's deliberate failure to supply required fall protection.

The Bridgeport Area Office of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found employees of Xtreme Restoration & Waterproofing LLC working without fall protection atop a two-story roof at a residential work site at 1040-1044 Stratford Ave. on June 16, 2014.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Chris Sawdo Construction LLC, in Middleburg, has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for one willful and three serious safety violations for exposing workers to fall hazards. The inspection was initiated in May 2014 when OSHA officials observed that employees doing roofing work at a residence on South Twin Maple Road in St. Augustine were working without fall protection. Penalties total $60,500.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A 39-year-old tree trimmer was killed when the mechanical arm supporting the bucket of an aerial lift suddenly collapsed, striking the cab of the truck and ejecting the worker onto the pavement. As a result of the fatality, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Advanced Tree Service in Newberry for five safety violations.