New Jersey-based painting contractor faces more than $41K in OSHA fines

Employer name: Allied Painting Inc., a painting contractor based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Inspection site: Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge, Fall River, Massachusetts 02720

Employer name: Johnson Controls Battery Group Inc.

Investigation site: 10300 Industrial St., Holland, Ohio

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: On Nov. 25, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated a follow-up inspection at Johnson Controls Battery Group. The wet and dry battery manufacturer was previously inspected by OSHA in April 2012.

Employer name: M&M Manufacturing Co. LLC

Site: Houston, Texas

Date initiated: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the March 2015 inspection after receiving a report of an amputation at the facility under the new OSHA recordkeeping and reporting requirements that became effective January 1, 2015.

Parent company Cohen Brothers also cited for 3 serious electrical safety violations

Employer name: Cohen Brothers Inc., Middletown, Ohio; Metal Shredders Inc., Miamisburg, Ohio

Inspection site: Metal Shredders Inc., a subsidiary of Cohen Brothers, 5101 Farmersville-West Carrollton Road, Miamisburg, Ohio

WASHINGTON — The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), signed by President Obama on July 22, 2014, is the first major reform to federal job training programs in more than 15 years. WIOA is designed to improve the coordination of employment and training services across federal agencies, strengthen collaboration with state and local partners, and provide Americans with increased access to training, education and other support to succeed in the job market and in their careers.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Two workers in the Idaho Falls area were killed in separate incidents when the vehicles they were working under fell from their makeshift supports and crushed them. The incidents occurred within a two-week period and within three miles of one another. Since Sept. 1, 2014, five of the nine workplace deaths in Idaho involved workers who were crushed under or by vehicles.

Company owner served with subpoena requiring him to cooperate with investigators

Employer name: Julio Galindo, 3812 Fayette Road, Columbus, Ohio

Investigation site: 3556 Oakway Drive, Toledo, Ohio

Employer name: Grede Wisconsin Subsidiaries LLC, Browntown, Wisconsin.

Employer names: Formosa Plastics Corp. Texas; Infinity Maintenance; Maxim Crane Works; APRM Inc., doing business as, Plant Maintenance Services; Clark Constructors LLC, Process Service Specialist and Turner Industrial Group

Site: Point Comfort, Texas

Date initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration began investigating the natural gas processing facility in October 2014 after the facility experienced five incidents involving potential chemical releases in three days, resulting in worker injuries.

WASHINGTON — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is asking the public for information about worker safety hazards in communication tower construction and maintenance activities. Public input will assist the agency in determining what measures are needed to prevent worker injuries and fatalities.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today released preliminary data for calendar year 2014 and updated its Mine Safety and Health at a Glance Web page. The charts include information on inspections; violations; number of mines and miners; and fatality and injury rates for coal, metal and nonmetal, and all mining.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has released a proposed rule that will protect 401(k) and IRA investors by mitigating the effect of conflicts of interest in the retirement investment marketplace. A White House Council of Economic Advisers analysis found that these conflicts of interest result in annual losses of about 1 percentage point for affected investors — or about $17 billion per year in total.

Date of Action: March 27, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: James H. Carmichael, The Specialty Restaurant Group LLC 401(k) Plan, and The Specialty Restaurant Group LLC Group Health Plan

Date of Action: February 26, 2015

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Lawsuit

Names of Defendants: Alliance Property Services Inc., Alliance Property Services PA Inc., Secure Assets First Inc., Imperial Property Services Inc. and Michael McCaffrey, individually and as owner.

These are centrally owned and commonly managed businesses, based in Syracuse, New York, engaged in property preservation and inspection services for foreclosed properties in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Employers: Seashore Saipan, a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands company that provides diving tours and dive instruction activities.

Sites: Garapan, Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

ALBANY, N.Y. — A manufacturer of custom-sized resin balls used in the petroleum industry failed to protect its employees from the risk of death or serious injury from potential fires, explosions and other hazards by not providing and using mandatory safeguards, U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors have found.

CHICAGO — Hundreds of thousands of workers suffer finger, hand or foot amputations and other serious injuries each year in the United States because dangerous machines with moving parts lack proper safety mechanisms. Despite these dangers, one Chicago-based manufacturer ignored safety requirements and put workers at risk for debilitating injuries.

DES PLAINES, Ill. — Each day, somewhere in this country, construction workers fall. One wrong step can send them tumbling down a steeply pitched roof, sliding or dropping off an unstable ladder, or left hanging fearfully from a scaffold. In these cases, one thing stands between them and tragedy: fall protection.

BEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio — On just his second day on the job, a 28-year-old man working on a machine to forge parts lost a fingertip in a November 2014 incident that investigators say could have been prevented if his employer had trained the man to properly operate the upsetter machine and the machine had proper safety mechanisms. The man was unable to work for two weeks after the injury.

WHAT: Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program funding of $4 million is available to provide an estimated 2,000 veterans with job-driven training for in-demand jobs to help them successfully transition from homelessness to sustainable housing and good civilian jobs. Homeless veterans may receive occupational, classroom and on-the-job training, as well as job search and placement assistance, including follow-up services.