SPRINGFIELD, Ill. ‒ A 42-year-old laborer leak testing joints inside a 54-inch round pipe suffered fatal blunt force injuries in October 2015, when an inflatable “bladder” ruptured at a Springfield waste-water treatment plant. Inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found his employer, Henderson Construction of Central Illinois Inc., failed to train him properly on the testing procedure.

BISMARCK, N.D. ‒ Two Bismarck companies have been cited by federal safety inspectors for failing to protect workers from fall hazards of up to 18 feet at a residential home construction site in the 4600 block of Greyhawk Lane in February.

Employer name: Premier Roofing Company LLC and Walter Construction LTD

Worksite: Multi-family housing re-roofing project in Denver

Citations issued: April 18, 2016

State: Massachusetts

Type of Award: National Dislocated Worker Grant

Initial Amount Approved: $3,214,752

Incremental Amount Awarded: $1,272,710

Funding Awarded to: Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development

Number of Workers Served: Approximately 400

Employer’s names: Owen-Ames-Kimball Co., and Stevens and Layton Inc.

Inspection site:  Intersection of Midway Blvd. and Edgewater Drive, Port Charlotte, Florida 33952

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation uncovered that the Nueces County Sheriff’s Office altered employee time sheets and did not pay its employees legally required overtime compensation.

Employer(s):

BEAR CREEK, Wis. – A Wisconsin food cannery faces $143,550 in federal penalties after a 35-year-old worker fell more than 17 feet into an empty sauerkraut vat and broke multiple bones. The inspection that followed was the fourth time since 2011 that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited GLK Foods LLC for failing to protect workers from fall and machine hazards.

LOS ANGELES – In a sweeping decision, a federal judge in Los Angeles has found that City National Corporation violated employee retirement laws when it chose its own staff to administer its employee retirement plan in exchange for millions of dollars of unchecked, unreasonably high compensation.

ELGIN, Ill. ‒ Despite the fact that preventable falls account for nearly 40 percent of all deaths in the construction industry, some employers continue to ignore the dangers and put their workers at serious risk.

Date of Action: April 12, 2016

Type of Action: Lawsuit seeking debarment from future government contract awards

Name of Defendant: Carney W. Potter, doing business as Arrowhead Starr Co. and Carney W. Potter, individually, in Plainview, Arkansas. Arrowhead Starr is a forest maintenance contractor that provides reforestation services to the federal government.

SAN FRANCISCO – A San Leandro-based human resources outsource provider will pay $1 million in back overtime wages and damages combined to hundreds of employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation that found widespread Fair Labor Standards Act violations.

Employer name: Los Arcos Seafood & Grill Inc., doing business as Los Arcos Mexican Grill & Seafood Jose Gutierrez, Jr.
Martin Romo

Investigation site: 3798 Nolensville Road, Nashville, Tennessee 37211

Employer name: Dollar General Corp.

Inspection site: 34300 Mississippi Highway 35, Vaiden, Mississippi 39176

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on April 8 for four repeated and one serious safety violation.

Employer name: Quick Roofing LLC

Inspection Site: 628 Maple Point Drive, Conroe, Texas

Citations issued: April 14, 2016

Employer: ViaSource Solutions Inc., formerly INW Contact LLC, a call-center provider to businesses that market products on television infomercials

Location: 223 East Thousand Oaks Blvd., Suite 222, Thousand Oaks, California

Employer’s name: Cooper University Hospital

Inspection site: One Cooper Plaza, Camden, New Jersey

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to Cooper Hospital for nine serious and six other-than-serious  safety and health violations.

In the week ending April 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 253,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 267,000 to 266,000. The 4-week moving average was 265,000, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 250 from 266,750 to 266,500.

Date of Action: April 13, 2016

Name(s) of Defendants: Interactive Marketing Group Inc. 401(k) Profit-Sharing Plan

Employer name: Alfa Laval Inc., global manufacturer of technologies in heat transfer, separation and fluid handling

Inspection Site: 12249-B FM 529, Houston, Texas

Citations issued: April 11, 2016