EASTAMPTON, NJ – While falls continue to be the leading cause of death and serious injury in the construction industry, federal workplace safety inspectors too often find employers willing to ignore required safety protections and put the safety of their workers at risk.

WASHINGTON ­– The U.S. Department of Labor today released a Supplemental Statement clarifying a June 2020 Information Letter on private equity investments as a component of a professionally managed asset allocation fund offered as an investment option in participant-directed retirement savings plans, such as 401(k) plans. 

BOSTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Act authorizes the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue subpoenas to request necessary documents as part of an OSHA inspection. If a recipient fails to comply, the department may then move to enforce the subpoena in federal district court. A recent decision by the U.S.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $10 million cooperative agreement to Partners of the Americas to strengthen gender equity efforts in Mexico and reduce workplace discrimination and harassment.

JACKSON, MS – Federal investigations of six Mississippi fish farms by the U.S. Department of Labor have led to the recovery of $102,176 in back wages for 123 workers and the assessment of $69,122 in civil money penalties.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $5 million cooperative agreement to Social Accountability International to prevent and reduce forced labor and child labor abuses in the Malaysian palm oil and garment industries.

HONOLULU – A U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division investigation found the operator of two Hawaii restaurants denied workers overtime wages, and failed to record the hours of work for its kitchen cooks accurately, both violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

NEVILLE ISLAND, PA – A workplace safety investigation into the June death in Neville Island of a 19-year-old roofing worker who fell 30 feet through an unprotected skylight found two commercial contractors willfully failed to use fall protection systems that might have saved his life.

BOSTON – El Tribunal de Distrito de EE.UU. por el distrito de Massachusetts ha ordenado a un contratista de Massachusetts pagar $438,000 en salarios atrasados a 250 empleados por violaciones de la Ley de Normas Laborales Justas después de que el tribunal ya ordenara al contratista pagar compensación por daños por represalias.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of an $8 million grant to support a global health organization’s efforts to improve workplace safety and health in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $5 million cooperative agreement to the American Center for International Labor Solidarity to improve workers’ rights in agricultural supply chains in Honduras and Guatemala, and the garment sector in El Salvador.

BOSTON – O Tribunal Distrital dos EUA para o Distrito de Massachusetts condenou uma empresa de Massachusetts a pagar $438.000 em salários atrasados a 250 trabalhadores por violação do Ato dos Padrões Justos de Trabalho , depois de o tribunal ter previamente ordenado o contratante a pagar indenização por danos punitivos por retaliação ilegal sob a FLSA.

KANSAS CITY, MO – A Leawood contractor rehabbing the Firestone, Shankman and Michaelson buildings in Kansas City’s historic Troost commercial district continues to expose its workers to asbestos and other workplace hazards, a June 29, 2021, federal safety and health investigation has found.

BOSTON – The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has ordered a Massachusetts contractor to pay $438,000 in back wages to 250 employees for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act after the court had previously ordered the contractor to pay punitive damages for unlawful retaliation under the FLSA. Woburn-based JKA Construction Inc. and owners Clesio Da Silva, Fabio Da Costa, Rafael De Paula and Josias De Paula must also pay $64,750 in civil money penalties to the U.S.

“OSHA is gratified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard. OSHA can now once again implement this vital workplace health standard, which will protect the health of workers by mitigating the spread of the unprecedented virus in the workplace.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Wage and Hour Division will present virtual compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders to provide information on Executive Order 14026, “Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors.” The Federal Contract Minimum Wage Executive Order applies across the country and its territories and does the following:

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of more than $8 million in contract investments to four national Industry Intermediaries to expand the use of Registered Apprenticeship in sectors affected by the pandemic. The department is seeking to develop apprenticeship opportunities for all U.S. workers, in particular those from under-represented and underserved populations. 

JACKSONVILLE, FL – In early November, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Jacksonville Job Corps Center signed a memorandum of understanding with Johnson & Johnson Vision to make its advanced manufacturing production technology training program available to Job Corps students.

On Dec. 17, the joint agreement moved three of the Florida center’s students one step closer to beginning their careers in robotics as the program produced its first class of graduates.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor will reopen the rulemaking record and hold a virtual public hearing on Jan. 11, 2022, on the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s proposed rule for Safety Program for Surface Mobile Equipment to improve safe usage of mobile, powered-haulage equipment.

AUSTIN, TX – A federal investigation and consent judgment has recovered $170,000 in back wages and liquidated damages from the operator of two Austin-area restaurants who denied overtime to 17 kitchen workers who labored 60 hours a week. The probe found the restaurants’ operator later submitted falsified documents to investigators to make it appear they had paid overtime pay to resolve Fair Labor Standards Act violations found by the U.S.