March 2, 2016

Department sues Honolulu builder to recover more than $500K for workers after willful violation of federal minimum wage and overtime pay laws

Employer: Kazu Construction LLC

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Lawsuit    

Names of Defendants: Kazu Construction LLC Vernon Lowry, owner

March 2, 2016

Federally funded affordable housing project in Los Angeles for veterans, homeless plagued with wage violations

LOS ANGELES – In downtown Los Angeles, as dozens of workers constructed a new affordable housing complex for veterans and chronically homeless individuals in MacArthur Park, their employers were cheating them out of lawfully earned wages in 2015.

March 2, 2016

Department of Labor moves to revoke Central Valley labor contractor’s certification in wake of farm workers’ deaths

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Labor has taken action to take away a Central Valley labor contractor’s permit to provide agricultural workers to local growers following a series of safety violations that culminated in 2015 with a vehicle accident that killed four farmworkers.

March 2, 2016

OSHA investigation finds St. Marys’ manufacturer willfully exposed employees to dangerous machine hazards

Employer name: P/M National Inc., 201 Grotzinger Road, St. Marys, Pennsylvania

Citations issued: On Feb. 27, 2016, The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for one willful and five serious violations.

March 1, 2016

Orange County residential care facilities owner violated overtime, wage laws; to pay 138 workers $227K in back wages, damages

Employers: Elizabeth Homes Adult Residential Care, owned by Elizabeth G. Santos, Inc.

Sites: 7161 Stanton Ave., Buena Park, California (main office)
18 other facilities throughout Orange County

March 1, 2016

Morris County contractor created worker safety hazards that led to hangar collapse at Newark Liberty International Airport

Employer name: Catanzaro & Sons Enterprise, doing business as CATCO Demolition Services
10 Gregory Drive, Montville, New Jersey

Site: Newark Liberty International Airport, 14 Brewster Road, Newark, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Feb. 24, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Parsippany Area Office issued a citation for one willful violation.

February 29, 2016

OSHA cites Sharpe Holdings in death of worker at Missouri dairy farm

LA BELLE, Mo. – For the third time since 2012, federal investigators have cited Sharpe Holdings in the death of an employee. The most recent casualty was a 51-year-old equipment operator, who suffered serious head injuries after was ejected from the rear of a van on Sept. 26, 2015. He died the following day.

February 29, 2016

Department of Labor sues Oregon drywall company to recover $800K in overtime wages, damages for 100 workers

PORTLAND – For the second time since 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor is suing the same major Pacific Northwest drywall company for failing to pay its workers $800,000 or more in overtime.

February 29, 2016

OSHA cites auto parts maker for forklift, machine hazards at Oregon, Ohio, plants after complaints of unsafe working conditions

Employer name: Autoneum North America Inc.

Inspection site: 1150 N Wynn Road, and 4131 Spartan Drive, Oregon, Ohio

Citations issued: Feb. 25, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Toledo Area Office cited Autoneum North America for one repeat and five serious safety violations.

February 29, 2016

OSHA continues focus on protecting workers from struck-by vehicle hazards at job sites in Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Just before Thanksgiving, a waste hauling truck struck and killed a 47-year-old worker in a construction work zone near Higginsville. Since 2012, he was one of 35 workers in three Midwestern states that federal safety and health inspectors determined whose death resulted from fatal struck-by vehicle hazards.

February 29, 2016

Worker’s severe saw injury prompts OSHA investigation that uncovers more than a dozen safety hazards at Augusta meat processing plant

Employer name: FPL Food LLC

Investigation site: 1301 New Savannah Road, Augusta, Georgia 30901

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on Feb. 26 for 15 serious safety violations.

February 26, 2016

Farm labor contractor, vineyard pay $42K in penalties for providing deplorable housing conditions to farm workers in Sonoma County

Employers: Four Seasons Vineyard Management Inc., Ridge Vineyards Inc.

Site: Healdsburg, northern Sonoma County, California

February 26, 2016

Employees at Connecticut steel foundry exposed to electrical, chemical, mechanical and fire hazards and lack of protective equipment

HARTFORD, Conn.  – Employees at PCC Structurals-Groton faced the risk of chemical burns, fire, lacerations, amputations, electric shock and other injuries, inspections by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration have found.

February 25, 2016

U.S. Labor Department sues to recover unpaid minimum wage, overtime plus additional damages for Akron restaurant workers

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit filing

Names of Defendants: Emidio & Sons Inc. and Emidio Piermarini Jr.

Complaint: The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in federal court to recover back wages and an equal, additional amount in liquidated damages for employees at Emidio’s, an Akron restaurant. The suit also seeks an injunction against the company to prevent future FLSA violations. 

February 25, 2016

OSHA finds Middlesex contractor exposed workers to fall hazards after investigation of roofer’s death at Parsippany jobsite

Employers name:  S&S Roofing Inc., 2 Self Blvd., Carteret, New Jersey 

Inspection site: 71 Walsh Drive, Parsippany, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Feb. 17, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for one repeat and three serious violations.

February 25, 2016

US Labor Department sues B&H Foto & Electronics Corp. for hiring, pay, promotion discrimination; harassment

NEW YORK – A lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs alleges that B&H Foto & Electronics Corp. has systematically discriminated against Hispanic employees and female, black and Asian jobseekers at its Brooklyn Navy Yard warehouse.

February 25, 2016

OSHA cites employer for exposing Houston workers to amputation and fire hazards

Employer name: Machinery Maintenance Rebuilders Inc., Houston, Texas

Inspection Site: 6927 Brittmoore Road, Houston

Citations issued: Feb. 24, 2016

February 25, 2016

US Mine Safety and Health Administration announces results of special impact inspections at 17 mines in January

Who: U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration

What: The Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today that federal inspectors issued 138 citations, four orders and one safeguard during special impact inspections conducted at 11 coal mines and six metal and nonmetal mines in January

Where: MSHA conducted special impact inspections at mines in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

February 25, 2016

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending February 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 272,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 262,000. The 4-week moving average was 272,000, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 273,250.

February 24, 2016

US Labor Department conducting wage survey of Alabama’s building and heavy construction industries

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is conducting a building and heavy construction survey statewide in Alabama. The agency is currently collecting data on wages paid to workers on all active building and heavy construction projects throughout the state from Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 31, 2014. This survey is not limited to federally funded construction projects.