DENVER – Officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding to help stop the misclassification of workers in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

The first MOU of its kind represents a new effort on the part of the agencies to work together to protect employee rights and level the playing field for responsible employers by reducing the practice of misclassification.

Employer name:  Liqui-Box Corporation, Ashland, Ohio

Citations issued: Aug. 11, 2016

Date of Action: Aug. 15, 2016

Type of Action: Complaint

Name(s) of Defendants: A. Kenneth Belanger
Jo-Ann Belanger
Belanger and Co.  Inc.

Allegations: After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Secretary of Labor filed a complaint alleging that:

Employer name: Makin’ Choices Inc.

Investigation site: 2000 Chapel Hill Road, #23, Durham, North Carolina 27707

In the week ending August 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 262,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 266,000. The 4-week moving average was 265,250, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 262,750.

Employer: Brownlow Plastering LLC

Site: 19031 Trippi Road, Hammond, Louisiana 70403

Employer name: National Manufacturing Co. Inc.

Inspection site: 12 River Road, Chatham, New Jersey            

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for 10 serious safety violations on July 25, 2016.

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit filing 

Name of Defendants: Austin Electric Services LLC
Toby Thomas

Employer name: U.S. Postal Service LLC, doing business as Silver Spring MPO Carr Annex Hotel

Inspection site: 8827 Monard Drive, Silver Spring, Maryland       

Citations issued: On Aug. 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one other-than-serious violation and five repeated violations to the company.

BELLEVILLE, Ill. ‒ Illinois contractor Robert Barringer III’s long history of putting his workers in danger of debilitating or fatal falls at his company’s job sites continues, this time at a residential home under construction in Glen Carbon.

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Labor is launching a new pilot process in its Western region. The “Expedited Case Processing Pilot” allows a complainant covered by certain statutes to ask the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to cease its investigation and issue findings for the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges to consider.

DALLAS – A gruesome employee injury led federal workplace safety inspectors to discover the nation’s largest meat and poultry processor endangered workers by exposing them to amputation hazards, high levels of carbon dioxide and peracetic acid without providing personal protective equipment. 

Employer name: Oprandy’s Fire & Safety Equipment Inc.
49 Brookline Ave.
Middletown, New York

The company sells installs and services fire extinguishers and suppression equipment. 

Inspection site: 49 Brookline Ave., Middletown, New York

Employer name: Furia Roofing Co. Inc., 2 Monhegan St., Clifton, New Jersey

Inspection site: 699 Route 46 East, Teterboro, New Jersey         

Citations issued: On Aug. 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for one repeat and three serious violations.

Date of Action: July 15, 2016

Type of Action: Default judgment

Name of Defendant(s): Sommet Group LLC
L. Brian Whitfield
D. Edwin Todd
Sommet Group LLC Employee Benefit Plan

NEWARK, Ill. – For the second time in two years, federal safety inspectors found workers risking amputations and other serious injuries as they fed parts by hand into an unguarded mechanical press brake at an Illinois trailer manufacturing plant. They also found the company failed to protect welders and other employees from harmful ray emissions during welding operations.

ARLINGTON, Va. – Mine drill operators face their share of on-the-job risks. Failing to follow safe drilling practices can lead to fatal outcomes, as has been the case in recent years. In April 2014, a 53-year-old miner died in an underground gold mine in Elko County, Nevada, after his clothing caught in a jackleg drill.

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has revoked a West Virginia nonprofit’s ability to pay less than the current federal minimum wage to workers with disabilities after federal investigations found the organization violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act.

In the week ending August 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 266,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 2,000 from 269,000 to 267,000. The 4-week moving average was 262,750, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 500 from 260,250 to 259,750.

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit filing

Name of Defendants: West Coast Drywall & Company Inc.
Mark D. Herbert
Santos Garcia