NEW YORK, NY – The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has sentenced Howard Preschel of Teaneck, New Jersey, to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $462,049 in restitution for embezzling funds from an employee pension benefits plan sponsored by CMG Vending Inc. in Union City, New Jersey. The court also fined Preschel $10,000.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) today announced significant increases in the number of indictments and criminal investigations in Fiscal Year 2019 along with a drop in the number of days OLMS took to resolve union officer election complaints.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited CLF Construction Inc. and Toll Brothers Inc. for exposing employees to fall hazards after a CLF employee suffered fatal injuries in a fall at a worksite in Media, Pennsylvania. OSHA proposed $170,560 in penalties for Philadelphia-based subcontractor CLF Construction, and $74,217 for Horsham, Pennsylvania-based general contractor Toll Brothers.

In the week ending February 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 219,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 210,000 to 211,000. The 4-week moving average was 209,750, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 209,000 to 209,250.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia traveled to Madison, Wisconsin, to address business leaders at the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) Business Day. In his remarks, the Secretary attributed the nation’s strong economic performance to the President’s pro-growth policies, including deregulation, tax cuts, fair trade agreements and workforce development.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) today released its first-ever Contractor Compliance Institute (CCI) – an interactive learning management system designed to educate employers with federal contracts and subcontracts on how to comply with OFCCP’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) regulations.

BOSTON, MA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that Universal Trucking Solutions LLC – a defunct Hartford, Connecticut, commercial motor carrier – and its co-owner, Juan Ramirez, violated the whistleblower protections of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA).

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an initiative to have agency inspections focus on reducing workplace hazards that can lead to amputation injuries for workers in Pennsylvania’s manufacturing industry.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an initiative to have agency inspections focus on reducing workplace hazards that can lead to amputation injuries for workers in Delaware’s manufacturing industry.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an initiative to have agency inspections focus on reducing workplace hazards that can lead to amputation injuries for workers in West Virginia’s manufacturing industry.

BRANSON, MO ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Royal Oak Enterprises for exposing employees to multiple safety and health hazards at company facilities in Branson and Summersville, Missouri. The charcoal manufacturer faces $339,702 in penalties.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today published a memorandum announcing the creation of the Protecting Employees, Enabling Reemployment (PEER) Initiative. The Initiative serves as an opportunity for agencies to recommit to a safety and health-conscious federal workforce that can receive needed timely benefits through a modern and efficient workers’ compensation system.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to highlight workforce development and economic opportunity during a visit to Rockwell Automation. Secretary Scalia toured Rockwell Automation’s new manufacturing line that is set to open in spring 2020 and met with veteran candidates from the company’s Academy of Advanced Manufacturing workforce training program.

DALLAS, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Damage Prevention Council of Texas (DPC) signed an alliance designed to educate employers and employees in all 254 counties in Texas about the hazards associated with trenching and excavation.

MORGANTOWN, WV – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and PJ Dick Inc. have partnered to promote worker safety during the construction of Reynolds Hall – the future home to the new John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University – in Morgantown, West Virginia.

FORT MILL, SC – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Simpson Electric Co. – a residential electric company based in Fort Mill, South Carolina – has paid $21,500 in back wages to 116 employees for violating overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

CHARLESTON, SC – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Tara of Charleston LLC – a Charleston, South Carolina-area company operating a Holiday Inn – has paid $58,233 in back wages and liquidated damages to 55 employees for violating overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) has taken steps to reform the self-insurance process for coal mine operators to better support the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.

PHENIX CITY, AL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Jaime Martinez Hernandez – a residential framing contractor based in Phenix City, Alabama – for exposing employees to fall and struck-by hazards at two Alabama worksites. The contractor faces $240,880 in penalties.

WILMINGTON, DE – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Dana Rail Care for workplace safety and health hazards at the facility in Wilmington, Delaware. The company faces $371,276 in penalties.