BOSTON – Un empleado que trabajaba para dos contratistas de construcción de Massachusetts estaba ejerciendo sus derechos cuando se quejó ante su supervisor por no recibir el pago de horas extra y solicitó el salario que le correspondía. Las dos compañías respondieron con una campaña de represalias, presionando al trabajador a retirar su reclamación por el pago de las horas extra.

BOSTON – An employee who worked for two Massachusetts construction contractors was within his rights when he complained to his supervisor about not receiving overtime pay and requested the wages he was due. The two companies responded with a campaign of retaliation, pressuring the worker to withdraw his overtime complaint. They convinced other individuals to follow and threaten the worker’s family, and told other employees they might lose their jobs because the worker requested overtime pay that was legally due.

BOSTON – The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has entered a consent order that three Canton construction businesses and their president, Charles L. Capone, pay a total of $310,000 – $155,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – to 19 employees following an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on the July 2021 Employment Situation Report:

GOLDEN VALLEY, MN – Low-wage workers often do much of the essential work in our communities, and women, immigrants and people of color often hold those jobs. The healthcare industry employs many of the nation’s low-wage workers, which underscores the importance of a federal court action and a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation related to a Golden Valley home healthcare provider.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh today issued a statement on the passing of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka:

“American workers have lost one of their greatest champions in AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. President Trumka was a role model for me as a labor leader and a partner to me as a public servant, as we worked to drive positive change for workers and communities across America. Most important, Rich was a dear friend and I will miss him.

SHAFTER, CA –Investigadores de la División de Horas y Salarios del Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. descubrieron que los empleados de cuatro restaurantes en California Central trabajaban duro para que los clientes tuvieran una buena experiencia pero su empleador no les pagaba el total de los salarios que habían ganado legalmente.

SHAFTER, CA – U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found that while employees at four Central California restaurants worked hard to ensure customers enjoyed their experience, their employer failed to ensure they received all the wages they had legally earned.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced its intent to award approximately $8 million for a technical assistance project to improve workplace safety and health conditions in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, and provide workers greater access to social protection.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor encourages the nation’s employers to commit to workplace safety and health and join its Occupational Safety and Health Administration in observing Safe + Sound Week, Aug. 9-15, 2021.

A nationwide event that recognizes the successes of workplace safety and health programs, Safe + Sound Week also offers information and ideas on how to keep America’s workers safe.

In the week ending July 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 385,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 400,000 to 399,000. The 4-week moving average was 394,000, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 250 from 394,500 to 394,250.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an alliance with the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in the national organization’s workplace equity efforts.

TAVARES, FL – In the early afternoon of March 2, 2021, a 44-year-old electrical technician at an Orlando work site climbed down into a trench to splice electrical wires to power streetlights. Not long after, the worker made contact with live wires and suffered fatal electrocution, a death the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators deemed avoidable had the employer taken required safety measures.  

PHILADELPHIA – A North Carolina farm labor contractor that hired temporary workers to pick and pack melons in southern Delaware violated federal law when it employed them in jobs not listed in its application to hire foreign guest workers, failed to provide required kitchen facilities or meals, paid insufficient wages and housed workers in overcrowded living quarters, the U.S.

LAKEWOOD, NJ – A Central New Jersey medical facility and temporary staffing agency failed to ensure the safety and health of nurses giving flu shots and testing potentially infectious patients for the coronavirus earlier this year, a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation has found.

MOUNT DORA, FL – Diners at Fiesta Grande Mexican Grill locations in Mount Dora and Orange City never knew that the restaurants’ operator was sharing tips intended for servers with cooks in violation of federal laws regulating the use of money in tip pools.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM –The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $284,219 in back wages for 163 employees of Pappas Restaurants Inc. after an investigation found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime requirements.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Employers may request that workers arrive before their shifts begin for briefings but workers must be paid for that time, a lesson that a New Mexico community college learned after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh today issued a statement on Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s announcement that Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. has today pleaded to and been sentenced for theft relating to violations of the Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Act and the federal Davis-Bacon Act.

CHICAGO ‒ An Ohio worker tasked with cleaning a chemical tanker trailer collapsed upon entering the tank. Answering the employee’s call for help, a nearby truck driver entered the tank. Both workers succumbed to fatal toxic fumes.