WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding Sen. Tom Harkin as chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee:

"I am delighted to congratulate Sen. Tom Harkin on his new role as chairman of the HELP Committee.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today certified for release $11,058,877 in unemployment insurance (UI) modernization incentive funds to the state of West Virginia. West Virginia qualified for a portion of its share of the funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) by allowing workers to use their more recent earnings to qualify for benefits.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Sept. 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 550,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 576,000. The 4-week moving average was 570,000, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 572,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.6 percent for the week ending Aug. 29, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.7 percent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) today released three reports on child labor and/or forced labor in countries around the globe. The documents include the initial "List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor" required by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPRA List).

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today released three reports on child labor and forced labor around the world. The reports, which can be downloaded at http://www.dol.gov/ilab include a list of 122 goods — from 58 countries — made using child labor and forced labor.

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement:

Twinsburg, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the former president and fiduciary to the 401(k) retirement plan of Precision Funding Corp., a mortgage broker, for improperly using plan assets withheld from employees’ pay for the benefit of the company, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today published in the Federal Register a final rule revising the personal protective equipment (PPE) sections of its general industry, shipyard employment, longshoring and marine terminals standards concerning requirements for eye- and face-protective devices, and head and foot protection.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today certified for release $42,489,921 in unemployment insurance (UI) modernization incentive funds to the state of Colorado. Colorado qualified for a portion of its share of the funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) by allowing workers to use their more recent earnings to qualify for benefits.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1,096,423 grant to assist approximately 178 workers affected by layoffs at Alcoa North American Rolled Products in Bettendorf, Iowa, and John Deere Davenport Works in Davenport, Iowa.

"Iowa workers affected by these layoffs need and deserve support," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "The grant announced today will provide retraining, job search assistance and other services to help them prepare for career track positions in promising regional industries."

Washington - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today released Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2009-03 that describes the circumstances under which a participant-directed individual account plan may satisfy the prospectus delivery requirements of section 404(c) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by furnishing a “Summary Prospectus” pursuant to requirements established by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

New York - The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York seeking the appointment of an independent fiduciary to oversee the abandoned 401(k) plan of defunct Digitel Solutions for Business Inc. or Empire Telecom Systems Corp., formerly located in Buffalo, New York .

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the August 2009 Employment Situation report issued today:

"This past August, the economy lost 216,000 jobs – fewer than what most experts expected. The overall unemployment rate is now 9.7 percent. Last month's jobs loss is an improvement from the average 700,000 jobs our economy was losing every month when this administration took office, but is still by no means acceptable.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement for Labor Day:

"On Monday, Sept. 7, we will celebrate a great American holiday – Labor Day. Over the years, it may have become a time for backyard barbecues. But the real intent behind today's holiday is honoring the contributions of American workers.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today certified for release $20,934,147 in unemployment insurance (UI) modernization incentive funds to the state of New Hampshire. New Hampshire qualified for the remaining two-thirds of its share of the funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) by making it easier for unemployed workers seeking part-time work and those unemployed for family reasons to be eligible for benefits.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Aug. 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 570,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 574,000. The 4-week moving average was 571,250, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average of 567,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.7 percent for the week ending Aug. 22, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.6 percent.

Washington —The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a regulation to assess civil penalties against plan sponsors of multiemployer defined benefit pension plans that fail to adopt a funding improvement or rehabilitation plan in accordance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) as amended by the Pension Protection Act (PPA).

WASHINGTON – A survey of 4,387 workers in low-wage industries across the three largest U.S. cities – Chicago, Los Angeles and New York – found that the core workplace protections many Americans take for granted are failing significant numbers of workers.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has certified for release $200,767,125 in unemployment insurance (UI) modernization incentive funds to the state of Illinois. Illinois qualified for the remaining two-thirds of its share of the funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) by including certain family-friendly provisions in its UI law.

New York – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will hold a free workshop on September 24 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT to help employers, the employee benefit community and others better comply with federal pension law. The workshop will be held at Plaza 35, 1030 St. George’s Avenue, Suite 205 in Avenel, New Jersey.

Washington – The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (also known as the ERISA Advisory Council) will hold meetings September 15 through 17 in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue N.W., Room N-3437A-B.