BALTIMORE — A Baltimore staffing agency for federal contractors allegedly hired Hispanic construction laborers, and then harassed and discriminated against them. It also allowed supervisors of other federal contractors to assault them physically, make racial slurs, and threaten them with deportation. The allegations were made in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

BALTIMORE — A Baltimore staffing agency for federal contractors allegedly hired Hispanic construction laborers, and then harassed and discriminated against them. It also allowed supervisors of other federal contractors to assault them physically, make racial slurs, and threaten them with deportation. The allegations were made in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

BOSTON — A Tyngsboro company that supplies temporary employees to businesses has agreed to enhanced workplace safety and health protections for workers it places in all those businesses in a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Marathon Staffing Services Inc. for a serious violation in December 2014 for not providing hearing tests for its employees exposed to high noise levels while working on assignment at Concrete Systems Inc. in Hudson, New Hampshire.

Employer name: Canton Drop Forge

Investigation site: 4575 Southway SW, Canton, Ohio

More than $89K in penalties also assessed for H-2A violations

ASHLAND, Neb. — Farmworkers harvesting melons, cucumbers, pumpkins and squash on a Nebraska farm labored long hours to put fresh produce on Midwestern tables, but were denied the wages they earned and were legally entitled to receive when their employer failed to follow the law.

SAN ANTONIO — The latest investigation in the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division ongoing enforcement initiative, focused on the oil and gas industry in New Mexico and Texas, has helped 188 workers who will receive $157,000 in back wages after investigators found their employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Wage and Hour Division investigators in the San Antonio District Office found that Elite Production Services LLC failed to include the workers' bonus payments when calculating their rates of pay for overtime hours.

Employer: Calmaui Inc., doing business as Pineapple Grill at Kapalua

Site: 200 Kapalua Dr., Lahaina, Hawaii 96761

Violations found by investigators will help more than 100 restaurant and hotel workers

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — At a University of Michigan Wolverines' home game, 109,000 college football fans often cram into "The Big House," the stadium known to hold nearly all Ann Arbor residents. Game weekends mean an increased demand for workers at packed bars, restaurants and hotels.

Employer name: Cycle Tex Inc.

Inspection site: 906 East Hermitage Road, Rome, Georgia 30161

Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the Jan. 20, 2015, inspection after the agency received a complaint.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — If they had been in place, safety mechanisms might have saved a 62-year-old parts assembler who died after he was struck by a 4-pound metal spacer that flew off a 4-ton hydraulic press, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors determined.

Employer name: Gaspar Fuentes

Sites: Both sites were in Fort Worth, Texas

US Department of Labor's Women's Bureau offers funding opportunity

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that $1.25 million will be made available to research and analyze how paid leave programs can be developed and implemented across the country. The department's Women's Bureau will administer the funding opportunity.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — An East Greenwich company that conducts wellness clinics throughout the U.S. inadequately protected its employees against exposure from contaminated needlesticks and bloodborne pathogen hazards, an inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

Employer name: Republic Steel Canton, Ohio

Investigation site: 1807 E. 28th Street Lorain, Ohio

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: On Dec. 12, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Toledo Area Office initiated an inspection at Republic Steel's Lorain, Ohio, mill after receiving a report that a worker fell from a height of about 12 feet. The 17-year-employee suffered contusions to the back, shoulder and abdomen.

WASHINGTON — In April 1995, on a dusty, rural road in his native Pakistan, 13-year-old Iqbal Masih was riding his bicycle when an unknown gunman shot and killed him. Three years earlier, he had escaped after five years of slavery as a carpet weaver to become an outspoken advocate against child exploitation.

PHILADELPHIA — Robert D. Kulick, acting OSHA regional administrator in Philadelphia, issued the following statement about roofing company owner James J. McCullagh being charged by indictment today in connection with the fatal fall of an employee.

CLAYCOMO, Mo. — The death of a 52-year-old contractor, crushed by a conveyor carriage weighing nearly 4 tons at an automotive assembly plant, could have been averted if his employer followed federal safety standards, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators determined.

In December 2014, a weld failure caused a temporary support safety pin to disengage on an assembly line conveyor carriage at the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo. The 7,600-pound carriage then fell on the worker.

WASHINGTON — For children facing work-filled days — lifting heavy rocks, cutting sugar cane, or weaving carpets — the promise of even a basic education may seem remote. Add the threat of retaliation or violence, under the watchful eye of an employer, and the glimmer of that promise fades even further.

For communities to thrive, children need opportunities to learn and grow. Their families need opportunities to earn a decent living. And everyone needs the freedom of choice to learn and venture as far as their hard work will take them.

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Lawsuit

Name of Defendant: Here to Help Learning Academy LLC and Michele Blake in Columbus, Ohio

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that the Columbus, Ohio-based Here to Help Learning Academy LLC violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Employer Name: Venture Chemicals Inc.

Location: Seagraves, Texas

Date Inspection Initiated and What Prompted the Inspection: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened the inspection in December 2014 after an employee was fatally caught in a mixer/auger bin.