March 16, 2021

U.S. Department of Labor issues new guidance to states on implementing American Rescue Plan Act Unemployment Insurance provisions

WASHINGTON, DC – The signing of the American Rescue Plan Act significantly expanded the number of weeks that many workers will be able to collect pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits. Now, the U.S.

March 16, 2021

OSHA, grain industry leaders say small changes have big impacts

WASHINGTON, DC ‒ Today, six of every 10 workers trapped in a grain bin don’t make it out alive. This is a frightening reality, but one that the nation’s 8,378 off-farm grain storage facilities’ operators can change by following common sense approaches that truly may be the difference between life and death.

March 16, 2021

US Department of Labor announces funding available for researchers to study equity for underserved communities

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a Summer Data Challenge competition for emerging and established scholars to analyze how federal labor policies, protections and programs reach traditionally underserved communities.

March 16, 2021

US Department of Labor investigation results in judge debarring North Carolina farm labor contractor for numerous guest worker visa program violations

SMITHFIELD, NC – Temporary foreign workers are essential contributors to America’s agricultural workforce, and laws enforced by several federal departments, including the U.S. Department of Labor, govern their hiring, wages and working conditions.

March 15, 2021

OSHA cites New Jersey frozen dessert manufacturer after second amputation injury on same machine

LAKEWOOD, NJ – Despite two severe amputation injuries in 2018 and 2020 on the same machine at a Lakewood ice cream manufacturing plant, a recent federal safety and health inspection found the company continues to ignore protocols designed to prevent other workers from suffering similar injuries.

March 12, 2021

OSHA launches program to protect high-risk workers from coronavirus, focuses on employers that retaliate against workers with safety concerns

WASHINGTON, DC In response to President Biden’s executive order on protecting worker health and safety, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched a national emphasis program focusing enforcement efforts on companies that put the largest number of workers at serious risk of contracting the coronavirus.

March 11, 2021

OSHA cites Chicago container shipping company after employee suffers leg amputation, crushed pelvis when run over by powered industrial vehicle

CHICAGO – Working at a Chicago shipping facility, an employee suffered a leg amputation and crushed pelvis after he fell off and was then run over by a powered heavy-lift vehicle used to move and stack steel containers. The 30-year-old recent hire suffered injuries after being allowed to ride unsecured on the vehicle.

March 11, 2021

US Department of Labor announces proposals to rescind two rules that undermine worker protections against unfair pay practices

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today announced proposals to rescind two final rules that would significantly weaken protections afforded to American workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

March 11, 2021

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending March 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 712,000, a decrease of 42,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 9,000 from 745,000 to 754,000. The 4-week moving average was 759,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,250 from 790,750 to 793,000.

March 10, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $102K in back wages for 11 Tampa restaurant workers after investigation uncovers overtime violations

TAMPA, FL A Tampa restaurant enterprise has paid $102,894 in back wages to 11 workers after a federal investigation found the employer illegally denied them overtime pay.

March 10, 2021

US Department of Labor orders one of the nation’s largest railway companies to pay more than $290K in damages, reinstate whistleblower

FORT WORTH, TX – An employee of one of the nation’s largest North American freight railroad networks will receive more than $290,000 in back pay, damages and fees, and be reinstated to their job after the U.S. Department of Labor found the worker’s rights were violated under the Federal Railroad Safety Act.

March 10, 2021

US Department of Labor issues stronger mine safety guidance on coronavirus

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor issued today stronger worker safety guidance to help mine operators and mine workers implement a coronavirus protection program and better identify risks that could lead to exposure.

March 9, 2021

Orlando landscaper to pay $48K in back wages to employees after US Department of Labor finds overtime violations

ORLANDO, FL An Orlando landscaping employer will pay $48,978 in back wages to 39 workers after a federal investigation found the employer paid employees illegally for the hours that they worked.

March 8, 2021

La campaña de educación y cumplimiento del Departamento de Trabajo de los EE. UU. busca aumentar el cumplimiento de las leyes por parte del sector agrícola del sureste

ATLANTA - La División de Horas y Salarios del Departamento de Trabajo de los EE. UU. está llevando a cabo una iniciativa de educación y cumplimiento de las leyes laborales federales en el sector agrícola del sureste de los Estados Unidos de América. Además de actividades relacionadas con el cumplimiento de las leyes, la iniciativa ofrece ayuda a empleadores respecto de este tema e instruye a trabajadores y a otras partes interesadas.

March 8, 2021

US Department of Labor education, enforcement campaign seeks to increase Southeast agricultural industry’s compliance

ATLANTA The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is currently engaged in an education and enforcement initiative to increase compliance with federal labor laws in the Southeast’s agricultural industry. In addition to enforcement activity, the initiative provides compliance assistance to employers and educates workers and other stakeholders.

March 8, 2021

US Department of Labor again cites Oklahoma construction contractor for exposing workers to serious trenching, excavation hazards

OKLAHOMA CITY – Excavation work is among the most dangerous in the construction industry. Trenches can collapse around and atop workers, crushing and burying them quickly and sometimes fatally – which has long made trench and excavation protection a vital concern for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

March 5, 2021

Nashua restaurants pay more than $108K in back wages to 17 workers after US Department of Labor finds overtime, minimum wage violations

MANCHESTER, NH – Two Nashua restaurants learned that paying flat salaries to its workers doesn’t waive their responsibility to pay overtime when those employees work more than 40 hours in a workweek. Doing so violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, and resulted in the back wages found due in a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation.

March 5, 2021

Sanibel Island restaurant pays $222K in back wages to 48 workers after US Department of Labor finds wage violations

SANIBEL, FL Restaurant workers such as servers and bartenders depend on tips to supplement their low hourly wages, so when a Sanibel Island eatery required its workers to contribute to an unlawful tip pool, the restaurant made it even harder for them to make ends meet.

An investigation of Island Cow Inc. by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $222,432 in back wages for 48 workers.

March 5, 2021

Florida stable pays $137K in back wages, penalties after US Department of Labor investigation finds H-2B guest worker violations

OCALA, FL – A consent order issued by an administrative law judge in the U.S. Department of Labor has allowed the department’s Wage and Hour Division to recover $81,139 in back wages for 29 foreign workers brought to Florida for employment under the federal H-2B guest worker visa program.