MARINETTE, WI – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Dollar Tree Stores Inc. for exit, storage and fire hazards at a Marinette, Wisconsin, store. The national discount retailer faces $477,089 in penalties.

GUAYNABO, PR – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited High Quality Concrete – based in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands – for crushing and other hazards following an employee fatality on Sept. 6, 2019. OSHA cited the concrete factory for willful, serious and other-than-serious violations, with proposed penalties of $90,217.

PORT SAINT LUCIE, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Turnkey Construction Planners Inc. – based in Melbourne, Florida – for exposing employees to fall hazards at two worksites in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. The roofing contractor faces $114,294 in penalties.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today the U.S. Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of Labor announced that small and midsize employers can begin taking advantage of two new refundable payroll tax credits, designed to immediately and fully reimburse them, dollar-for-dollar, for the cost of providing Coronavirus-related leave to their employees. This relief to employees and small and midsize businesses is provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, signed by President Trump on March 18, 2020.

FOLEY, AL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited national discount retailer Dollar Tree Store Inc. for exposing employees to safety hazards at a store in Foley, Alabama. The company faces $106,029 in penalties.

LODI, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited D.O. Productions LLC for lockout/tagout violations after unguarded machinery caused severe hand injuries to an employee at the frozen food manufacturer’s Lodi, New Jersey, facility. The company faces $77,184 in penalties.  

ANNANDALE, VA – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has issued a default judgment requiring defendants JWK Corp., its chief executive officer and the director of operations to restore $103,098 to the 401(k) defined contribution plan of the Annandale, Virginia-based engineering services company.

LOUISVILLE, KY – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky has sentenced Eduardo Chinea Martinez – co-founder of several Louisville, Kentucky, medical clinics – to 42 months in prison and three years of supervised release. The court also ordered him to pay $258,507 in restitution for defrauding healthcare benefit programs. He made full restitution on March 5, 2020, the date of sentencing.

PHOENIX, AZ – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) Southwest Windows & Doors LLC – based in Tempe, Arizona – will pay $577,997 to 109 employees for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements.   

In the week ending March 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 281,000, an increase of 70,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 211,000. This is the highest level for initial claims since September 2, 2017 when it was 299,000. The 4-week moving average was 232,250, an increase of 16,500 from the previous week's revised average. This is the highest level for this average since January 27, 2018 when it was 234,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 1,750 from 214,000 to 215,750.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of up to $100 million for Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) to help address the workforce-related impacts of the public health emergency related to COVID-19, also known as novel coronavirus.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an initiative to increase the focus of agency inspections in West Virginia’s maritime, construction, and general industries on identifying, reducing, or eliminating worker exposures to respirable crystalline silica.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an initiative to increase the focus of agency inspections in Pennsylvania’s maritime, construction, and general industries on identifying, reducing, or eliminating worker exposures to respirable crystalline silica.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an initiative to increase the focus of agency inspections in Delaware’s maritime, construction, and general industries on identifying, reducing, or eliminating worker exposures to respirable crystalline silica.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an initiative to increase the focus of agency inspections in the District of Columbia’s maritime, construction, and general industries on identifying, reducing, or eliminating worker exposures to respirable crystalline silica.

NASHVILLE, TN – The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville Division, has approved a settlement between the U.S. Department of Labor, Zander Group Holdings Inc., Stephen Thompson and Jeffrey Zander involving the company’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Brandenburg Industrial Service Company have signed a strategic partnership to promote worker safety and health during the demolition of the Montrose and Sibley Generating Stations in Clinton and Sibley, Missouri. Both coal-fired powered plants ceased operations in 2018.

WASHINGTON, DC – Following President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) today issued a National Interest Exemption memorandum to facilitate response efforts for COVID-19, also known as novel coronavirus.

ARCOLA, IL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Monahan Filaments LLC – based in Arcola, Illinois – for violations of OSHA’s machine safety standards after an employee suffered severe injuries. The manufacturer of synthetic filaments for brushes and brooms faces $258, 271 in penalties. OSHA placed the company in the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it is initiating a break for students at the 121 Job Corps centers located in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In light of the COVID-19 public health emergency and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department is acting to protect the health and safety of its tens of thousands of students and staff across the country. There is no evidence of any suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 in any Job Corps center at this time.