SCANDIA, Minn. – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Thommes and Thomas Land Clearing Inc. of Scandia and its owners in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota for their alleged failure to remit and timely forward employee contributions owed to the company’s retirement plan, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis will re-establish the charter of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. Established in 1995, the committee is composed of approximately 15 members who are industry professionals selected to represent the interests of the maritime community. A notice is published in today's Federal Register, which may be viewed at http://s.dol.gov/CJ.

LOS ANGELES — Clothing manufacturer Joe's Jeans has paid $158,952 in back wages owed to 110 garment workers who worked for one of the company's Los Angeles-based sewing contractors. The action results from an agreement between Joe's Jeans in Commerce, Calif., and the U.S. Department of Labor following an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division that found the contractor failed to pay the workers minimum wage and overtime as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords:

"My thoughts and prayers are with my friend and former colleague, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and all of the victims of this terrible, senseless act of violence.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the December 2010 Employment Situation report released today:

PORTLAND, Maine – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Larry Chaney and his defunct company, CLRS Enterprises, of Portland for failing to forward approximately $11,000 in employee contributions withheld from employees’ paychecks to the company’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account, known as a SIMPLE IRA. The company formerly operated as Woodward Thomsen Co.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has upgraded its re-employment Web portal to provide access to assistance beyond career and job searches. The http://www.CareerOneStop.org/reemployment site now offers a single source for information on jobs, career training, unemployment benefits and assistance with necessities such as food, housing, health care and utility payments.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Jan. 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 409,000, an increase of 18,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 391,000. The 4-week moving average was 410,750, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of 414,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.3 percent for the week ending Dec. 25, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.3 percent.

CRANBURY, N.J. – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit seeking the appointment of an independent fiduciary to oversee the abandoned 401(k) plan of defunct International Business Software Solutions, a company formerly located in Cranbury. The plan covered 31 participants and had $344,692 in assets as of December 2009, the latest data available.

PASADENA, Calif. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order restoring $601,736 to the employee stock ownership plan of defunct Air Transport Manufacturing Co. in Sun Valley, Calif. The company ceased operations and sold its assets in 2008.

Case involved motion for preliminary injunction against Freedom Energy

BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment requiring Sylvestre Franc Inc., operator of a salon in Newton, Mass., as well as the company’s owner and the plan trustee, to restore $33,918.73 in misused plan assets to the company’s 401(k) plan.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a $1 million National Emergency Grant increment to continue clean-up and recovery efforts in the wake of the severe storms and flooding that struck Puerto Rico in May 2010.

"The floodwaters may have receded, but Puerto Rico is still cleaning up," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "These funds will provide additional assistance to help clean up and repair the affected communities by creating temporary jobs."

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Dec. 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 388,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 422,000. The 4-week moving average was 414,000, a decrease of 12,500 from the previous week's revised average of 426,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.3 percent for the week ending Dec. 18, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.2 percent.

Workers in 8 states to recover more than $1.5 million in overtime back wages

HOUSTON — The U.S. Department of Labor announced the filing of a consent judgment in a case against CEMEX Inc. and the recovery of $1,514,449 in overtime back wages for 1,705 current and former ready-mix drivers who worked in eight states.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced nearly $20 million in grants awarded to combat exploitive child labor in Bolivia, Egypt and Jordan.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York seeking the appointment of an independent fiduciary to oversee the abandoned 401(k) plan of the defunct Swigonski Management Group, formerly located in Sherrill, N.Y.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Dec. 18, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 420,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 423,000. The 4-week moving average was 426,000, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 423,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.2 percent for the week ending Dec. 11, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.3 percent.

Crystal Lake, Illinois – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed an adversary complaint against Joseph Phelan, former president and fiduciary of Phezer Enterprises Inc. of Crystal Lake, in order to prevent the discharge of $10,470 from his personal bankruptcy, which is owed to the company’s employee health plan.

West Palm Beach, Florida – A federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, has approved a consent judgment between the U.S. Department of Labor and officers of Bonnie Tile Corp. to restore funds to the company’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account (SIMPLE IRA) plan.