DALLAS – Despite a history of violations and worker injuries dating back almost a decade, Fiesta Mart LLC – a Houston-based supermarket operator – continues to fail in its legal obligations to protect employees. Made apparent after federal inspections in February and May 2022 determined two butchers suffered amputation injuries due to unguarded machinery.  

ANN ARBOR, MI –The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to establish a formal partnership to enforce workers’ rights, conduct joint investigations and outreach efforts, and share information.

PERRY, OH – An Ohio nursery owner’s history of violations, coupled with allegations that they intimidated and threatened workers, and denied them their full wages, has led the U.S. Department of Labor to assess $76,278, in penalties and to debar the Perry employer from participating in the federal agricultural visa program for three years.

GUAYNABO, PR – Mientras 62 empleados en dos centros de cuidados paliativos de Puerto Rico brindaban servicios esenciales para que los pacientes terminales y sus familias se sintieran cómodos, el Departamento de Trabajo de los Estados Unidos realizó una investigación y descubrió que las prácticas salariales de sus empleadores perjudicaban la capacidad de los empleados de cuidar de sí mismos y de sus familias.

GUAYNABO, PR – While 62 employees at two hospice care centers in Puerto Rico provided vital services to comfort terminally ill people and their families, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found their employer’s pay practices hurt their ability to care for themselves and their families.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor is offering online compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders on the requirements governing payment of prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

ATLANTA – When federal workplace safety inspectors visited three Dollar General stores in Georgia earlier this year, they found exit routes obstructed, boxes of merchandise stacked unsafely and electrical panels hard to access, violations often cited at Dollar General locations.

ORLANDO, FL – Investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor of 11 central Florida heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractors have recovered more than $113,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 169 workers whose employers’ illegal pay practices denied them their full wages.

Who:                                       U.S. Department of Labor

Tuskegee State University faculty, students and career services professionals

Who:           U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

                       Damage Prevention Council of Texas Northwest

                       Mayor Adam Steen, City of Monahans

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration has recognized the Department of Labor – for the fifth consecutive year – with an A+ on its Fiscal Year 2021 Small Business Federal Procurement Scorecard.

Date of action:                       Aug. 4, 2022

Type of action:                      Joint stipulation, order for preliminary injunction

BATON ROUGE, LA – Federal safety inspectors have cited the operator of several Baton Rouge-area car wash, oil change, fueling and convenience store locations after a workplace violence investigation into the stabbing of an assistant manager on Feb. 6, 2022. The employee was treated and later released from the hospital.

EVENT:         Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Mid-Atlantic Region Data Users Conference, in partnership with the Federal Reserve                                     Bank of Philadelphia

WHO:            Bureau of Labor Statistics

In the week ending August 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 262,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 12,000 from 260,000 to 248,000. The 4-week moving average was 252,000, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 7,250 from 254,750 to 247,500.

SOUTHAVEN, MS – The operator of five Wing Stop franchise locations in Mississippi who made employees pay for their uniforms, safety training, background checks and cash register shortages – and violated child labor regulations – has been held  accountable by the U.S. Department of Labor, and paid $114,427 in back wages, liquidated damages and civil penalties.

MINNEAPOLIS – After a federal investigation found a Golden Valley franchisee of a national chain of home healthcare providers failed to pay overtime to certified nursing and patient care assistants as required by law – and then attempted to mask the violations – the U.S. Department of Labor has filed a complaint in federal court in Minneapolis to recover back wages and damages.

PARK CITY, UT– A federal whistleblower investigation has found a Shreveport, Louisiana-based provider of helicopter ambulance services retaliated against a pilot in Utah who refused to fly twice in 2021 amid concerns about limited visibility.

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has entered into a multi-establishment conciliation agreement with Cerner Corp.

PITTSBURGH – In return for providing essential homecare for people in need, 218 workers employed by a Pittsburgh-based home care agency expected their employer to pay them all their hard-earned wages. Instead, they found their employer denied them overtime wages, and manipulated records to hide the wage theft.