September 29, 2014

OSHA News Release: OSHA finds workers repeatedly exposed to fall hazards at residential construction site in Robbinsville, New Jersey [09/29/2014]

KEARNY, N.J. — While applying brick to the exterior of a new residential construction site located at 33 Emerald Road in Robbinsville, workers employed by Y.V. General Construction Corp. based in Kearny were exposed to scaffold and fall hazards. After the U.S.

September 29, 2014

OSHA News Release: Fulton, Mississippi, lumber mill cited for willful and serious safety violations following worker fatality [09/29/2014]

FULTON, Miss. — A Graham Lumber Co. employee was killed after he became entangled in a conveyor belt at the company's lumber mill in Fulton. The worker, employed at the company for less than two weeks, was cleaning up sawdust and bark around an unguarded conveyor when the entanglement occurred. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Graham Lumber for one willful and one serious safety violation following the April 2014 fatality.

September 29, 2014

ODEP News Release: $2M awarded by US Labor Department to improve post-secondary education and employment of youth with disabilities [09/29/2014]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced $2,007,322 in grants to Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York, and Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee, as part of the Pathways to Careers: Community Colleges for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities Demonstration Project.

September 26, 2014

VETS News Release: New rule streamlines reporting requirements on veterans' employment and hiring for federal contractors [09/26/2014]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule that reduces reporting requirements for federal contractors and subcontractors who hire and employ veterans under provisions of the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974.

September 25, 2014

Judge orders fiduciary to restore $275K to Nohl Crest Homes Corp. Employee Stock Ownership Plan in Oldsmar, Florida

Date of Action:  Sept. 22, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Judgment

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Nohl Crest Homes Corp., Kenneth R. Emery, Peter G. Tibma, and Nohl Crest Homes Corp. Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Jose Fernandez, Third Party Defendant

September 25, 2014

OSHA News Release: Wireless Horizon tower collapse results in deaths of 2 cell tower workers [09/25/2014]

BLAINE, Kan. — Following the death of two workers from the collapse of a cell tower they were dismantling March 25, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Wireless Horizon Inc. for two willful and four serious safety violations. OSHA placed the company in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program following the incident. So far in 2014, 11 workers have lost their lives nationwide in the communication tower industry; and 13 deaths occurred in 2013.

September 25, 2014

OSHA News Release: Worker loses life after being struck-by an excavator bucket at construction site [09/25/2014]

HOLDREGE, Neb. — Two workers were injured, one fatally, after being struck-by an excavator bucket while installing stormwater drainage in a trench at the intersection of 18th and Grant Streets in Holdrege on July 17, 2014. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Van Kirk Sand and Gravel, which operates as Van Kirk Brothers Contracting, for two serious safety violations related to the incident.

September 25, 2014

OSHA News Release: Stericycle Inc. ordered to reinstate Wichita, Kansas, supervisor terminated for reporting safety concerns [09/25/2014]

WICHITA, Kan. — Stericycle Inc. has been found in violation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. An investigation found the company wrongfully terminated a transportation supervisor at its Wichita terminal because the worker raised safety concerns after a driver was instructed to pull a trailer without a valid license plate.

September 25, 2014

OSHA News Release: OSHA and agriculture community come together to promote safety education during National Farm Safety and Health Week Sept. 21-27 [09/25/2014]

CHICAGO — The agriculture sector accounted for 479 deaths in 2013. With a fatality rate of 22.2 for every 100,000 full-time workers, agriculture recorded the highest fatality rate of any industry sector. Additionally, more than 49,000 injuries were recorded in 2012, the last year for which statistics were available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Agriculture employs more than 2 million people in the United States.

September 25, 2014

OPA News Release: US Secretary of Labor Perez's statement on the resignation of Attorney General Holder [09/25/2014]

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about Eric Holder's announcement of his resignation as Attorney General of the United States:

"Eric Holder is a man of extraordinary conscience and competence. It was a unique honor to serve with him at the Justice Department, and I am enormously grateful for his unwavering commitment to the cause of civil rights and to reinvigorating the Civil Rights Division in particular.

September 25, 2014

MSHA News Release: MSHA awards $1M in Brookwood-Sago mine safety grants [09/25/2014]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today awarded $1 million through its Brookwood-Sago grants program to seven organizations that provide education and training within the mining industry. The funding will be used to develop and implement training and related materials for mine emergency preparedness, as well as for the prevention of accidents in all underground mines.

September 25, 2014

MSHA News Release: MSHA issues POV notice to underground silver mine in Colorado [09/25/2014]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration put Star Mine Operations LLC's Revenue Mine in Ouray County, Colorado, on notice today of a pattern of violations of mandatory health or safety standards under Section 104(e) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. Revenue is an underground silver ore operation.

September 25, 2014

ETA News Release: $14.8M in grants announced by US Labor Department to expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities [09/25/2014]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $14,837,785 in grants to six states to improve employment opportunities for adults and youth with disabilities. The grants to California, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota and South Dakota are being awarded as part of the Disability Employment Initiative, funded by the department's Employment and Training Administration and Office of Disability Employment Policy.

September 24, 2014

US Labor Department files suit to recover more than $30,000 in employee contributions to benefit plans of defunct Hanco Inc. in Peru, Indiana

Date of Action: Sept. 22, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

Names of Defendant: Hanco Inc., doing business as Classico Seating, Harry T. Richardson Jr., the Hanco Inc. 401(k) Plan, the Hanco Inc. Health Plan and the Hanco Inc. Dental Plan

September 24, 2014

WB News Release: $500K for studies on expanding paid family and medical leave provided by US Labor Department grants [09/24/2014]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Women's Bureau and Employment and Training Administration today awarded $500,000 to assist the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Montana and Rhode Island in funding feasibility studies on paid leave. The studies will inform the development or implementation of paid family and medical leave programs at the state level.

September 24, 2014

OSHA News Release: Massachusetts Bay Electrical Corp. cited for safety violations in connection with 2 worker fatalities on Cape Cod, Massachusetts [09/24/2014]

BRAINTREE, Mass. — The deaths of two workers in a crane tip-over April 12, 2014, in Bourne could have been prevented if their employer, Massachusetts Bay Electrical Corp., had set up and operated the crane according to the manufacturer's instructions and trained employees in its proper operation, an inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found.

September 24, 2014

OSHA News Release: OSHA proposes $130,200 in fines for Canton, Ohio, aluminum plant for willfully exposing workers to serious hazards [09/24/2014]

CANTON, Ohio — Employees at Matalco US Inc. in Canton were exposed to amputation, fall hazards and unsafe crane operations, according to a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection. OSHA has issued two willful, one repeat and two serious safety violations, carrying proposed penalties of $130,200.

September 24, 2014

OSHA News Release: US Labor Department files complaint against North Jackson Specialty Steel for dismissing employee who reported safety concerns [09/24/2014]

NORTH JACKSON, Ohio — A lawsuit alleging that North Jackson Specialty Steel terminated a furnace operator for reporting unsafe working conditions at its North Jackson steel mill has been filed by the U.S. Department of Labor. The suit alleges the company violated the whistleblower protection provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 and seeks restoration of lost pay and benefits, compensatory and punitive damages, and compensation for attorney and other fees.

September 24, 2014

ETA News Release: $50.7M awarded to expand and enhance innovative workforce development strategies through the Workforce Innovation Fund [09/24/2014]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $50,744,449 in Workforce Innovation Fund grants to improve federal job training programs. The grants will be used to deliver services more efficiently, facilitate cooperation across federal and state workforce programs and funding streams, and expand partnerships with specific employers or industry sectors to develop programs that reflect current and future skill needs.

September 24, 2014

MSHA News Release: MSHA announces results of August impact inspections [09/24/2014]

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 131 citations and 11 orders during special impact inspections conducted at 12 coal mines in August.