WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has entered into a corporate-wide settlement agreement with the operators of one of the nation’s largest discount retail chains to improve workplace safety significantly in stores nationwide. A key pillar of President Biden’s plan — Bidenomics — is empowering to grow the middle class.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order from a federal judge that orders the owner and administrator of an Illinois home care and home healthcare provider to pay $324,049 in back wages and liquidated damages as part of the department’s effort to recover overtime denied to 159 healthcare workers.

ECLECTIC, AL ‒ The Texas-based operator of an Eclectic manufacturing facility could have prevented a 20-year-old worker from suffering an amputation if the employer had followed required federal safety standards, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation determined.

Employer: S & W Renovation & Landscape Contractor Inc. operating as S&W Foundation Contractors

Investigation site:
2806 Singleton St.
Rowlett, TX 75088                                

COLUMBIA, SC – As part of its continuing effort to reverse a significant national increase in child labor violations by employers, the U.S.

WASHINGTON, MO – Twice within two months in 2023, U.S. Department of Labor inspectors observed Cheltenham Construction Services — a contractor with a history of workplace safety violations dating back to 2015 — once again exposing employees to deadly fall hazards as they performed siding and roofing work in Lake St. Louis and O’Fallon.

Who:               U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Department of Labor’s OSHA Onsite Consultation Division

Raleigh, nc – A federal investigation has found that a Virginia-based information technology support company under contract with the U.S. Marine Corps incorrectly classified 10 workers as exempt from overtime, leading to the recovery of $77,627 in back wages and benefits owed to them.

SAN ANTONIO – A federal investigation has found that a San Antonio wire drawing company could have prevented an employee from suffering fatal injuries by following required workplace safety standards.

TYLER, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against Tyler Pipe Company alleging violations of federal whistleblower protections after the company fired an employee because they requested to use a respirator to protect them from smoke and fumes in the work area.

Employers:    Astro Skating Center of Brandon LLC, operating Astro Skate Family Fun Center of Brandon

                        750 W. Robertson St., Brandon, FL 33511

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an agreement with Rite Aid Corp. to implement a program to better protect employees, including front-end customer service staff, against hazards related to bloodborne pathogens at all its approximately 370 stores in New Jersey and New York.

NEENAH, WI – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation into an employee’s amputation injury at a Neenah manufacturing plant in February 2023 found one of the nation’s oldest and most recognized companies again failed to follow required safety procedures.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $65 million in funding to increase community colleges’ ability to provide equitable access to training to meet employers’ and workers’ skill development needs for in-demand industries.

NATCHEZ, MS – Federal workplace safety inspectors have determined that one of the nation’s leading cement manufacturers could have prevented a 50-year-old employee from drowning after falling from a barge into the Mississippi River in February 2023.

In the week ending August 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 239,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 248,000 to 250,000. The 4-week moving average was 234,250, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 231,000 to 231,500.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the Apprentice Trailblazer initiative, which will create a national network of apprentices and apprenticeship graduates whose individual stories may inspire career seekers interested in becoming apprentices. 

LITTLE ROCK, AR – A federal workplace safety investigation determined that 39-year-old employee of a south Arkansas timberland and sawmill facility suffered fatal injuries from an automated lumber stacking machine at its Bearden location.

WILKES-BARRE, PA – Federal workplace safety inspectors have again cited a Wilkes-Barre roofing contractor for exposing employees to falls, this time as they worked on the roof of a commercial building in Honesdale.

CHICAGO – A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against the fiduciaries of a Chicago-based multiple employer welfare arrangement to protect the fund’s remaining assets after a Department of Labor investigation alleged its fiduciaries and counsel misused more than $2.8 million in fund assets, and that they continue to mismanage the fund.