WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta today announced that the third annual National Apprenticeship Week will be held November 13-19, 2017. Apprenticeships provide demand-driven education, allowing apprentices to earn while they learn – helping to close the skills gap between the skills job creators seek and job seekers need.

SPRINGFIELD, MA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Shield Packaging Co. Inc., ASI Staffing Group Corp., and Southern Mass Staffing have reached agreements to correct hazards and enhance safety following a May 2016 incident in which an employee was injected with a flammable propellant gas.

MOONACHIE, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has again cited a Moonachie hair distribution company, and proposed $181,280 in penalties, after finding continued safety hazards at the employer’s warehouse.

PITTSBURGH, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited a Pittsburgh masonry contractor for exposing workers to serious dangers including fall and electrical hazards after an employee was fatally electrocuted in April.

BOSTON, MA – A Gloucester seafood processor will pay $90,000 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 60 employees to rectify violations identified during an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

ASHEBORO, NC – A national food distribution company based in Asheboro has agreed to pay $136,266 in back wages and damages to 47 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found overtime and other violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota entered a consent judgment agreed to by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and a Minneapolis employment agency to resolve overtime violations. As a result, 92 healthcare workers will receive $401,384 in back wages and damages.

ZEBULON, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a temporary restraining order against a plastics manufacturer after an investigation found the company failed to pay minimum wage and overtime to its employees.

The Department’s complaint seeks to keep Aimet Technologies LLC from shipping any products manufactured between June 19 and July 2, 2017. The Division believes the company’s plastic components – used in commercial and residential appliances – were produced by employees who were paid less than the federal minimum wage during that time period.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is conducting a construction survey in 24 New York counties to collect data on wages paid to workers to help establish prevailing wage rates, as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.

ATLANTA, GA – A U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia has ordered Bland Farms Production and Packing LLC – an onion producer in Vidalia – to pay $1,480,268 in back wages and liquidated damages after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

KANSAS CITY, MO – The owner of a Kansas City-area restaurant pleaded guilty in federal court to two felony counts of providing falsified payroll records to impede an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division into violations of federal wage laws.

In the week ending October 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 222,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 31, 1973 when it was 222,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 243,000 to 244,000. The 4-week moving average was 248,250, a decrease of 9,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 257,500 to 257,750.

MCDONOUGH, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Structural Subcontractors Service, LLC for exposing workers to fall hazards. The structural framing company, based in Birmingham, Alabama, faces proposed penalties totaling $102,669.

MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ – A South Jersey construction company owner with a long history of workplace safety violations was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for exposing workers to serious scaffold hazards at a job site in Philadelphia. The owner, Vyacheslav Leshko faces $191,215 in proposed penalties.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – A Philadelphia restaurant has agreed to pay 63 workers a total of $197,917 in back wages, and an equal amount in liquidated damages, to resolve alleged federal wage violations, including requiring employees to work unpaid hours. The agreement is part of a proposed consent judgment filed on Oct. 16, 2017, pending review and approval by a federal judge.

WASHINGTON, DC – Following President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order Expanding Apprenticeships in America, U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta today announced members of the President's Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion. The Task Force—representing companies, trade and industry groups, educational institutions, and labor unions—brings to the table substantial workforce development experience in addressing the nation’s skills gap.

DENVER, CO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Western Colorado Contractors Association (WCCA) have signed an alliance to provide the western Colorado’s construction industry with information, guidance, and access to training resources.

ERIE, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Pittsburgh-based P.J. Dick Corp. have established a strategic partnership to promote workplace safety and educate workers on construction hazards during construction of a new office building in Erie.

The project, which will build a seven-floor, 340,000-square-foot office building on French Street, will be occupied by Erie Insurance. It is expected to be completed by spring 2020.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta today issued the following statement on the President’s Executive Order regarding healthcare:

HOUSTON, TX – The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) have partnered to organize and distribute protective equipment and other resources to those affected by Hurricane Harvey. OSHA offices in Houston and Corpus Christi will work with the ASSE Region III leadership to coordinate donations of personal protective equipment (PPE) and distribute information on safety and health issues during recovery efforts.