In the week ending June 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 1,427,000, a decrease of 55,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 1,480,000 to 1,482,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,503,750, a decrease of 117,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 1,620,750 to 1,621,250.

WASHINGTON, DC – Because of the observance of the Independence Day holiday on Friday, July 3, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release its monthly Employment Situation Report on Thursday, July 2, at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The BLS release coincides with the Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims release, which occurs each Thursday at 8:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to mark the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) entry into force. Secretary Scalia participated in a roundtable discussion with JobsOhio, where he highlighted the USMCA’s benefits to American workers and manufacturers and discussed the safe reopening of the economy. The USMCA will create as many as 500,000 or more jobs for workers at a time when many Americans have been forced out of work due to the coronavirus.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor awarded $81,046,170 in grants intended to support activities that improve states' ability to serve, improve and expand the Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) model by strengthening the national apprenticeship system, promoting system alignment and partnership, and improving data sharing and data integrity.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today the award of over $53 million in Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) grants to 157 recipients that will provide employment services to more than 21,000 homeless veterans seeking to reintegrate into the workforce.

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States today named panelists for the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism, a key tool for the enforcement of the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) labor protections. The U.S. national panelists are Janice Bellace, Lance Compa, Peter Hurtgen, Ira Jaffe, Kevin Kolben and Ed Potter.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) entered into force today as the U.S. Department of Labor affirmed its commitment to upholding the agreement’s labor provisions.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will publish the Final Rule, “Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination Obligations of Federal Contractors and Subcontractors: TRICARE Providers” in the Federal Register.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor awarded $80,639,041 in grants intended to support activities that improve states' ability to serve, improve, and expand the Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) model by strengthening the national apprenticeship system, promoting system alignment and partnership, and improving data sharing and data integrity.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) today announced the award of $42,296,247 in Youth Apprenticeship Readiness grants to 14 organizations to increase participation by youth, ages 16 to 24, in new or existing Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs).

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of three Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) totaling $6,268,512 to help address the workforce-related impacts of the coronavirus. Funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which provided $345 million for DWGs to prevent, prepare for and respond to the coronavirus. This latest award follows six previous waves of funding, bringing the total amount awarded to states and territories to $245,249,950.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $6,225,000 in grants to seven organizations for demonstration projects to provide work-based job training for low-income, unemployed older Americans as part of the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP).

LODI, WI – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Furst-McNess Corp. – based in Lodi, Wisconsin – for exposing employees to potential grain dust explosions and other hazards at the feed mill facility. OSHA cited the company for one willful and two serious violations and faces $148,431 in penalties.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that “Increasing Access and Opportunity” is the 2020 theme for October’s annual observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM).

This year is the nation’s 75th observance of NDEAM, which is administered by the Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). The observance culminates the Department’s commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it is proposing a new exemption for investment advice fiduciaries. The Department’s actions today will benefit American workers and retirees by delivering more choices for their financial future with clear standards to be upheld by investment advice providers. The proposed exemption will be published in the Federal Register for notice and comment in the near future. 

ATLANTA, GA – On June 5, 2020, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered coercive sanctions against the owner of two Jacksonville, Florida-based contractors after finding them in contempt of court for failing to pay $2,202,049 in penalties assessed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for safety and health violations at Florida worksites.

CHARLOTTE, NC – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the Transit Management of Charlotte Inc. – operating as Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) – has reinstated and paid one employee $21,998 in back wages for violating requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

ST. LOUIS, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Unnerstall Contracting Company LLC for violations of OSHA’s trenching and excavation standards after an employee suffered severe injuries when a 20-foot trench collapsed during excavation of Creve Coeur Sanitary Sewer Trunk in Creve Coeur, Missouri. OSHA cited the Pacific, Missouri-based company for three willful and four serious violations, and faces penalties of $224,459.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an interim final rule providing regulations necessary to implement and administer the high-wage components of the Labor Value Content (LVC) requirements set forth in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the treaty’s implementing statute.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the IRS, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) are presenting a webinar on paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) for employers and business owners.