DECATUR, IL ‒ A lack of preventative maintenance on the explosion suppression system of a bucket elevator was a major factor in an April 20, 2023, explosion at Archer-Daniels-Midland Company’s West Plant that resulted in the hospitalization of three employees with burns and other injuries and extensive damage to the grain elevator, federal investigators found. 

Empleador:    Macarios Inc., Los Primos Inc., Dos Oros Inc., operando como Mayan Mexican Restaurant

                        4520 Pacific Ave. SE

Employer:      Macarios Inc., Los Primos Inc., Dos Oros Inc., operating as Mayan Mexican Restaurant

                        4520 Pacific Ave. SE

BOSTON – A federal court in Boston has entered a consent judgment ordering a New Jersey-based framing contractor to pay 61 construction employees $283,492 in back wages and liquidated damages and $46,507 in punitive damages to two former employees, allegedly fired for cooperating with U.S. Department of Labor investigators. 

Employers:    Great Lakes Care Companions Inc., Juan G. Salazar, owner

Actions:          Fair Labor Standards Act consent order and judgment

Courts:           U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan 

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has entered into a conciliation agreement with Pfizer Inc.

NEW YORK – Two employees of a Bronx water and sewer line construction contractor were fatally injured in a trench at a construction site at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens on April 3, 2023. These fatalities could have been prevented if their employer, Triumph Construction Corp., had ensured proper safeguards, a federal investigation found.

HEBRON, KY – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal consent judgment that requires the operator of a Hebron warehouse and distribution center to stop employing children illegally and to not violate federal child labor laws in the future.

OAKLAND, CA – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su today released the following statement after a tentative labor agreement was reached between leaders for the coalition representing health care workers and Kaiser Permanente:

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has entered into a conciliation agreement with US Foods Inc. to resolve alleged hiring discrimination at the food distributor's five locations in New Jersey, New York, Ohio and North Carolina.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has entered into a conciliation agreement with Pitney Bowes, to resolve alleged hiring discrimination at five of its facilities. 

Pursuant to the agreement, Pitney Bowes will pay $1,590,000 in back wages and interest to 468 applicants. The company will extend 106 job offers to the affected applicants.

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su joined the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United in New York City on Oct. 11, 2023, for a roundtable highlighting issues faced by restaurant workers.

VERONA, VA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has entered into a conciliation agreement with Daikin Industries to resolve alleged race-based hiring discrimination affecting Black applicants at its Verona facility.

ALLENTOWN, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has entered into a conciliation with B. Braun Medical Inc., to resolve allegations that the federal contractor breached a 2020 agreement to address discrimination against female employees and applicants at its Allentown manufacturing facility.

TULSA, OK – Three federal workplace safety and health investigations that followed the April 2023 death of a worker at a Tulsa manufacturing facility found the company exposed employees to struck-by hazards and identified 36 violations, including 25 serious safety violations of U.S. Department of Labor regulations. 

WHIPPANY, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has entered into a conciliation agreement with UniFirst Corp. to resolve alleged gender-based pay discrimination at its Whippany location.

Pursuant to the agreement, UniFirst Corp. will pay $226,341 in back pay and interest to 48 female production department employees. The company has also agreed to review its policies and practices, including the base salaries of production department employees for compensation disparities.

Employer name:       LOOPX LLC 

Investigation site:   146 Industry Road Independence, LA 70443

WARREN, OH ‒ U.S. Department of Labor investigators examining the cause of a March 2023 explosion and fire at a Warren auto battery manufacturing plant and investigating other safety complaints identified 19 safety and health violations after opening four separate inspections in less than a two-week period.

DEDEDO, GUAM – The U.S. Department of Labor has debarred a federal subcontractor on Guam from seeking federally funded contracts after the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer shortchanged 29 construction workers at Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz in Dededo and gave investigators falsified records.