Grants are the 2nd installment of $2 billion, 4-year initiative

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has announced a new 401(k) fee disclosure website as a resource for consumers. The new site, www.dol.gov/ebsa-copy/publications/understandingretirementfees.html, offers information on disclosures that, for the first time, will help workers with 401(k)-type retirement plans see what they are paying to invest their savings. It also includes new tips and tools on making smart retirement investment decisions.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $21,438,000 National Emergency Grant to assist with clean-up and recovery efforts in the wake of severe storms and straight-line winds that occurred in Ohio between June 29 and July 2. This grant will provide aid to affected communities across 37 counties throughout the state.

CINCINNATI — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has reached an agreement with federal contractor Meyer Tool Inc. to settle findings of race-based hiring discrimination. Under a consent judgment approved by a Labor Department administrative law judge, Meyer Tool will pay $325,000 in back wages and interest to 60 qualified African-American applicants who were rejected for entry-level machinist positions at the company's manufacturing plant in Cincinnati.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration announced today that plan sponsors seeking fiduciary relief for a service provider’s failure to comply with the department’s plan-level fee disclosure rule will be able to use a new online filing system, replacing the option of electronically sending notices to a previously established email address.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement to mark the 18th anniversary of passage of the landmark Violence Against Women Act:

"This month, we mark the historic passage of VAWA by redoubling our commitment to a zero tolerance policy against this heinous crime and our efforts to help victims rebuild their lives.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending September 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 382,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 367,000. The 4-week moving average was 375,000, an increase of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average of 371,750.

WASHINGTON – A meeting of the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, known as the ERISA Advisory Council, will take place Sept. 25 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. EDT. The meeting is open to the public and will be held in Room 4 of Suite C-5521, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20210.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today awarded $10.7 million through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program to 72 nonprofit organizations, including community/faith-based groups, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor/management associations, and colleges and universities.

QUEENS, N.Y. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Rochdale Village Inc. for alleged repeat and serious violations of workplace health and safety standards after two maintenance employees were hospitalized for accidentally inhaling a powder pesticide. The apartment community, located in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, faces a total of $116,400 in proposed fines following an inspection by OSHA's Queens District Office.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement commemorating the 11th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001:

"Tomorrow, the nation will pause to remember the horrific events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks. We honor them and their families by ensuring that they are never forgotten.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1.1 million grant to the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, D.C., to manage and operate the Office of Disability Employment Policy's new National Technical Assistance and Demonstration Center on Preparing Youth with Disabilities for Employment. The center will build capacity within and across youth service delivery systems to improve employment and postsecondary education outcomes for youths with disabilities.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the August 2012 Employment Situation report released today:

"Our nation's labor market added 96,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in August, while the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded a $3,358,017 National Emergency Grant to the Louisiana Workforce Commission that will be used to fund temporary jobs for cleanup and recovery efforts across Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac.

"We all watched with dismay as Hurricane Isaac's path of destruction hit communities in Louisiana," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "This funding is part of the federal government's commitment to help residents and communities with the tremendous recovery efforts already underway."

WASHINGTON, D.C. The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded a $3 million National Emergency Grant to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security that will fund temporary jobs for cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Isaac, which resulted in widespread storm damage across the state.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending September 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 365,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 377,000. The 4-week moving average was 371,250, an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 371,000.

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against defendants Dietrich & Associates Inc., an insurance brokerage firm in Plymouth Meeting, and its chief executive officer and sole shareholder, Kurt E. Dietrich, to disgorge $522,047 plus interest gained from illegal activities related to the company’s role as fiduciary to a hospital pension plan. The department’s suit is based on an investigation conducted by its Employee Benefits Security Administration that found violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

AKRON, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Logan Machine Co. with 16 safety and health violations following a March inspection that was initiated upon receiving a complaint that alleged hazards. Proposed penalties total $66,600.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has reached an agreement with federal contractor Lund Boat Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brunswick Corp., that settles allegations of hiring discrimination. In a consent judgment approved by the department's Office of Administrative Law Judges, Brunswick Corp. and Lund Boat Co. have agreed to pay $295,000 in back wages and interest to 185 female job applicants who were rejected for entry-level positions at Lund's boat manufacturing plant in New York Mills, Minn.

VALENTINE, Neb. — The U.S. Department of Labor has assessed a total of $46,602 in civil money penalties against Valentine Livestock Auction Co. in Nebraska after a 15-year-old employee was crushed against a metal gate by a stampeding calf while herding cattle in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act's child labor provisions.