WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced the availability of $10.5 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants to fund training and education for workers and employers to help them identify and prevent workplace safety and health hazards.

In the week ending July 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 247,000, a decrease of 3,000 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 245,750, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 243,000 to 243,500.

FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS – A fraud investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the FBI, and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General has led to a 12-year prison sentence for William Jackson Moates Jr., of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

DAYTON – A multi-agency federal and state investigation has led to the guilty plea and imprisonment of Ohio businessman William M. Apostelos, who orchestrated a Ponzi scheme that included the theft of $1.9 million from an employee benefit plan. The U.S.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta issued the following statement on the June 2017 Employment Situation report:

ARLINGTON, Va. - Improvements in roof control technology in underground coal mines have significantly reduced accidents involving roof and rib falls or coal bursts, but such accidents remain a leading cause of injuries, reports the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration. Since 2013, roof and rib falls or coal bursts led to the deaths of five continuous mining machine operators, and injured 83 other operators.

In the week ending July 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 248,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 244,000. The 4-week moving average was 243,000, an increase of 750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 242,250.

Employer: Colima’s Carniceria y Taqueria

Site: 611 Tulare St., Parlier, California

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a funding opportunity of approximately $15 million in grants to state workforce agencies to develop flexible and innovative strategies to increase the participation of people with disabilities in federally funded employment and training programs.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has published a Request for Information related to the fiduciary rule. The RFI is an opportunity for the public to provide data and information that may be used to revise the rule and associated exemptions.

In the week ending June 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 244,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 241,000 to 242,000. The 4-week moving average was 242,250, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 244,750 to 245,000.

GROVEPORT, Ohio – Amsted Rail Company Inc., a manufacturer of cast steel freight components, faces $610,034 in proposed penalties from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration after agency investigators found workers at its Groveport plant exposed to machine hazards and silica.

State: Missouri

Type of Award: National Dislocated Worker Grant

Total Amount Approved: $8 million

Initial Amount Released: $2.7 million

Funding Awarded to: The Missouri Division of Workforce Development

Number of Workers Served: Approximately 250

WASHINGTON – When individuals exit correctional systems, they face a variety of challenges that inhibit their ability to reenter the workforce and their community. Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced $72,797,326 in grant funds to be awarded to 32 programs to strengthen access to opportunity for these individuals.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs has begun instituting procedures aimed at monitoring and managing opioid prescription usage under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act. OWCP’s Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation provides benefits for federal employees who sustain a workplace injury or illness.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has sent a Request for Information related to the overtime rule to the Office of Management and Budget for its review. When published, the RFI offers the opportunity for the public to comment.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration today proposed a delay in the electronic reporting compliance date of the rule, Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, from July 1, 2017, to Dec. 1, 2017. The proposed delay will allow OSHA an opportunity to further review and consider the rule.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor will reinstate the issuance of opinion letters, U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta announced today. The action allows the department’s Wage and Hour Division to use opinion letters as one of its methods for providing guidance to covered employers and employees.

Employers: Forge Building Company, LLC

Site: 2619 West Lampert Drive, Boise, Idaho

Employer: Freshore Hospitality, LLC doing business as Willows Inn on Lummi Island

Site: 2579 West Shore Drive, Lummi Island, Washington