February 12, 2008

U.S. Labor Department increases claim assistance for energy workers

Resource centers offer new services to energy workers

February 8, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor proposal will clarify FMLA rules
for workers, employers and military families

Department seeks to update regulations, implement new FMLA leave law for military caregivers

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will publish a proposal on Feb. 11 to update its regulations under the 15-year-old Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) — a measure that will help workers and their employers better understand their rights and responsibilities, and speed the implementation of a new law that expands FMLA coverage for certain military family members.

February 7, 2008

U.S. Labor Department seeks contempt order against Hewitt over improper distribution of assets from Enron litigation settlement fund

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it has asked a federal district court in Houston, Texas, to hold Hewitt Associates LLC in civil contempt for failing to comply with an allocation formula approved by the court when it disbursed court-supervised settlement funds to Enron employees at the end of 2006. The proposed motion for civil contempt must be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

February 1, 2008

Employee Benefits Security Administration Releases Field Assistance Bulletin on Collection of Delinquent Contributions

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

January 30, 2008

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao calls for 2008 New Freedom Initiative Award nominations

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao has called upon nonprofit organizations, small businesses, corporations and individuals that have demonstrated exemplary and innovative efforts in advancing the employment and workplace environment of people with disabilities to submit entries for the 2008 Secretary of Labors New Freedom Initiative Award.

January 28, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor sues to install independent fiduciary on behalf of former employees of Versailles, Kentucky, hospital

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Fort Wright, Kentucky – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky to remove Woodford Memorial Hospital Inc. as the fiduciary of the hospital’s retirement and thrift plan.

January 18, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor obtains order requiring restoration of more than $500,000 to Georgia Plumbers Trade Association Health Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia requiring Marc Meixner to restore $509,624 to the Georgia Plumbers Trade Association Health Plan.

January 18, 2008

U.S. Labor Department seeks to restore employee contributions owed to Minnesota SIMPLE IRA plan and appoint independent plan fiduciary

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Minneapolis – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the owner of Duke’s Body Shop in Crystal, Minnesota, for allegedly retaining employee contributions owed to the company’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account (SIMPLE IRA) to pay the operating expenses of the company. Duke’s Body Shop is a commercial auto body repair shop.

January 16, 2008

U.S. Labor Department reaches agreement with Columbus, Ohio, business to recover contributions to company 401(k) plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Columbus, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached agreement with John P. Verhoff and Aaron K. Gaynor, officers of Precise Mechanicals Inc., Columbus, to restore employee contributions to the company-sponsored 401(k) plan.

January 16, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor to offer free health law seminar February 27 and 28 in San Antonio

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

San Antonio – A free health law compliance assistance seminar for employers, plan fiduciaries and plan services providers, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Texas Department of Insurance, will take place February 27 and 28 at the AmeriSuites Riverwalk located at 601 S. St. Mary’s in San Antonio.

January 15, 2008

U.S. Labor Department enforcement agency announces
eight criminal convictions for December 2007

OLMS also obtained eight indictments and more than $202,000 in court orders of restitution

January 15, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor launches $4 million project
to prevent hazardous child labor in the Dominican Republic

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — The U.S. Department of Labor today launched a new $4 million project to support public-private partnerships in the Dominican Republic aimed at preventing hazardous child labor.

"This project will make the dream of schooling a reality for thousands of children in need and help break the cycle of poverty," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "As a direct result of U.S. Department of Labor initiatives, more than one million children worldwide have been rescued from exploitive child labor."

January 10, 2008

U.S. Labor Department sues Fifth Third Bank and advisor to Operating Engineers Local 324 Pension Fund in Troy, Michigan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Troy, Michigan – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Fifth Third Bank, an Ohio corporation and advisor to the Operating Engineers Local 324 Pension Fund in Troy, Michigan, to recover plan losses suffered when the defendants mismanaged the sale of property owned by the fund.

January 10, 2008

U.S. Labor Department sues officers of Dublin, Ohio, business to restore funds to 401(k) plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Dublin, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued executives of American Systems Consulting Inc. in Dublin for improperly using 401(k) assets for the benefit of the company in violation of the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

January 10, 2008

Salem, New Hampshire, employer agrees to restore $100,000 to company profit-sharing plan to resolve U.S. Labor Department lawsuit

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Boston – Richard E. Landry Sr., owner and operator of Landry Architects of Salem, New Hampshire, has agreed to repay $100,000 to the company’s profit-sharing plan under a consent judgment resolving a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor over alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

January 8, 2008

Alexander J. Passantino named as acting administrator of the Wage and Hour Division

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that Alexander J. Passantino will serve as the acting administrator of the department's Wage and Hour Division. Passantino was named deputy administrator for the division in October 2006. He first joined the U.S. Department of Labor in November 2005 as a senior policy advisor to the assistant secretary for the Employment Standards Administration.

January 2, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor assists uranium workers

Traveling Resource Center to make stops in Arizona and New Mexico

December 28, 2007

U.S. Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division
announces record wage recovery for FY 2007

Agency collects more than $1.25 billion for workers since 2000

December 28, 2007

U.S. Department of Labor announces record-breaking FY 2007
federal contract worker wage recoveries

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs sets record for third consecutive year

December 28, 2007

U.S. Labor Department reports $32 million
in court-ordered union fund restitutions for workers in FY 2007

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) today announced its criminal enforcement data for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, highlighting increases over previous years. Court-ordered restitution of union funds has risen in each year since FY 2001, with only one exception. In FY 2001, the amount was just under $2 million and in FY 2007, the amount was over $32 million. Criminal case processing is up 10 percent over FY 2001 (406 from 370), while convictions are up 16 percent (118 from 102).