June 3, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA forms alliance with Lee Lewis Construction Co. in Lubbock, Texas, to prevent construction injuries and illnesses [06/03/2015]

Lee Lewis, chief executive officer with Lee Lewis Construction Co., signs OSHA alliance agreement with Elizabeth L. Routh, OSHA's area director in Lubbock, Texas.

Lee Lewis, chief executive officer with Lee Lewis Construction Co., signs OSHA alliance agreement with Elizabeth L.

June 3, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Suburban General Construction Inc. exposes worker to trench cave-in hazards while repairing water lines in River Forest, Illinois [06/03/2015]

Employer name: Suburban General Construction Inc., 1019 E. 31st Street, La Grange Park, Illinois

Investigation site: 1515 Lathrop Ave., River Forest, Illinois

June 3, 2015

OSHA News Release: Construction company willfully exposes workers to scaffolding, electrocution hazards at Philadelphia work sites [06/03/2015]

HAVERTOWN, Pa. — For six masonry workers installing brick facades on two new residential properties in Philadelphia, each day on-the-job could have been their last.

June 2, 2015

WHD News Release: Federal subcontractor pays 58 workers more than $99K in back wages in Hawaii after US Labor Department investigation [06/02/2015]

HONOLULU — A California-based heating, ventilation and air conditioning subcontractor has paid 58 workers $99,681 in back wages after an investigation found federal wage and hour laws were violated on three federally funded construction projects awarded by the U.S. Army in Hawaii between 2011 and 2013.

June 2, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Temporary workers exposed to noise, safety hazards in Morris County [06/02/2015]

OSHA proposes nearly $172K in penalties for 3 New Jersey employers

Employers' Names and Locations: The production warehouse of soft drink manufacturer Whitlock Packaging Corp. is located at 92 N. Main St. in Wharton, New Jersey.

Customized Distribution Services Inc., a general warehousing and storage contractor hired by Whitlock to run the warehouse's day-to-day operations, is located at 20 Harry Shupe Blvd. in Wharton.

June 2, 2015

OSHA News Release: Chicken processing facility repeatedly exposes workers to dangerous machinery hazards [06/02/2015]

WINESBURG, Ohio — Less than two years after agreeing to address safety violations in a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Case Farms Processing Inc. exposed workers to the same dangerous machinery hazards at its Winesburg facility.

June 2, 2015

OWCP News Release: US Labor Department to participate in town hall meetings in Bridgeton, Missouri, to assist nuclear weapons workers [06/02/2015]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor and other federal agencies will host two town hall meetings on June 16 and 17 in Bridgeton, Missouri. The meetings will provide current and former nuclear weapons employees who worked at 11 covered facilities in Missouri with information regarding benefits available to them under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.

June 1, 2015

WHD News Brief: Federal contractor pays nearly half of a million dollars in back wages to 204 detention officers [06/01/2015]

Employer name: PTS of America LLC doing business as Prisoner Transportation Services of America, Nashville, Tennessee

Investigation sites: PTS corporate headquarters, Nashville, Tennessee; Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, Mesa, Arizona; Alexandria International Airport, Alexandria, Louisiana; and San Antonio International Airport, San Antonio, Texas.

June 1, 2015

WHD News Release: Investigations find Utah construction workers underpaid by nearly $2M [06/01/2015]

SALT LAKE CITY — For construction workers, every dollar is hard-earned. Harder still is accepting that their employers cheated them out of earned wages by violating their rights. With the help of the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, more than 2,700 Utah construction workers are getting the wages they deserve.

June 1, 2015

WHD News Brief: U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division to offer free compliance seminar in Manhattan on June 3 [06/01/2015]

Date and Time: June 3, 2015 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST

Location: Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, 26 Federal Plaza, Conference Room J, New York, N.Y. 10278

June 1, 2015

OSHA News Release: Boise contractor again puts workers at serious risk of injury, death in unprotected underground trench [06/01/2015]

BOISE, Idaho — Every month, somewhere in the U.S., two people die in trench cave-ins — buried or crushed by the tremendous weight of falling earth. In fact, one cubic yard of soil can be equal to the weight of a small automobile, about 3,000 pounds. These needless deaths can be prevented with proper cave-in protections.

Despite these realities, some contractors continue to ignore the serious dangers of unprotected trenches and allow employees to work below ground level at great risk.

May 28, 2015

WHD News Brief: Portland grocery store to pay more than $99,000 in overtime back wages, damages to 11 workers [05/28/2015]

Employer: Tienda y Carniceria La Tapatia Inc., doing business as Supermercado Tapatia

Sites: 18330 SE Stark St., Portland, Oregon

Investigation findings: The employer incorrectly categorized a number of employees as exempt from overtime and failed to pay these employees additional half time for hours worked beyond 40 in a work week. Instead, La Tapatia paid a flat salary for all their hours regardless of how many hours they worked, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

May 28, 2015

OSHA News Release: Fatal Staten Island mezzanine collapse 'should never have happened' [05/28/2015]

AVENEL, N.J. — The life of a 46-year-old demolition worker, killed in a building collapse in November 2014 at a Staten Island auto dealership, could have been spared if his employer had not disregarded federal safety rules.

Delfino Jesus Velazquez Mendizabal died when the mezzanine of the former Dana Ford Lincoln dealership collapsed on him. A husband and father, Mendizabal was employed by Formica Construction Co. Inc., a Port Richmond, New York, contractor.

May 28, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA finds workers again exposed to safety and health hazards at Camden, New Jersey, warehouse [05/28/2015]

Magnetic Metals Corp. fined $53,900 for 15 federal violations

Employer Name and Location: Magnetic Metals Corp., located at 1900 Hayes Avenue in Camden, New Jersey, manufactures soft magnetic materials for products including motors and transformers.

May 28, 2015

MSHA News Brief: MSHA announces results of April impact inspections [05/28/2015]

Participant: Mine Safety and Health Administration

Description: The Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 107 citations and one order during special impact inspections conducted at 17 coal mines and one metal and nonmetal mine in April.

May 28, 2015

EBSA News Release: Employee Benefits Security Administration publishes plan audit quality report [05/28/2015]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration has published its study on the quality of benefit plan audits performed by certified public accountants. The report, "Assessing the Quality of Employee Benefit Plan Audits," reveals serious issues with the current system.

May 27, 2015

WHD News Brief: Marrocco Group to pay $303K in back wages and damages to 146 low-wage workers at 7 Providence, Rhode Island, locations [05/27/2015]

Employer name: Marrocco Group, four restaurants, two bar/lounges and a boutique hotel owned by Gianfranco Marrocco.

May 27, 2015

OWCP News Release: US Department of Labor hosting traveling resource centers in Grand Junction, Colo., and Moab, Utah, on June 10 and 11 to assist nuclear weapons workers [05/27/2015]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will host a traveling resource center in Grand Junction, Colo., on Wednesday, June 10, and in Moab, Utah, on Thursday, June 11, to provide the public with information about the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act and the medical benefits available under the program.

May 27, 2015

OSHA News Release: Machine guards may have prevented arm amputation suffered by worker at Cordele, Georgia, sawmill [05/27/2015]

CORDELE, Ga. — A job should be a source of personal accomplishment and pride, not the cause of disability and unemployment. A 29-year-old temporary worker suffered the latter at a local sawmill operated by Griffin Lumber & Hardware. The man's left arm was amputated when his jacket was caught in the drive shaft of a conveyor belt in January.