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.

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.

WASHINGTON — Americans with disabilities face many obstacles in life, including those that make their search for employment difficult. To help remove some of these impediments, the U.S. Department of Labor is working to increase the ability of federal job training programs to serve youth and adults with disabilities through better collaboration and new partnerships at state and local levels.

Employer name: Rock Hard Homes, Inc., residential home builder, Southbury, CT

Inspection site: 13 Pembroke Road, Danbury, CT 06811

Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Bridgeport Area Office began an inspection on Nov. 7, 2014, after OSHA inspectors driving by the worksite observed fall protection hazards and immediately opened an inspection.

WASHINGTON — In the next decade, six million youth will enter the Central American labor force. They will need job opportunities and the skills to succeed in them. All too often, high poverty and violence rates in El Salvador and Honduras prevent young people from learning the marketable, job-driven skills that can help them forge clear paths to decent jobs and greater economic opportunities. Without access to quality education and good jobs, these youth are vulnerable to exploitation.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The owner of two East Rutherford, New Jersey, companies will pay $322,094 in back wages and penalties after U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found the companies willfully violated a provision of the H-1B visa program, which allows guest workers to be temporarily employed in the United States.

Location: Oklahoma

Type of Action: Launch of a multi-year agriculture education and enforcement initiative.

HOUSTON — Imagine living on less than $300 a week in an area where a month's rent averages $1,000 or more. That's a reality for many workers in specialty grocery stores in Houston, reports the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. The finding results from a multiyear enforcement initiative by the division that found widespread minimum wage and overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Employers: Jan Charles Gray, individually and Mount Rushmore Broadcasting, Inc., All American Inn - Glenrock, and American President Resorts.

Sites: Mount Rushmore Broadcasting, Inc., in Casper, Wyoming; All American Inn - Glenrock in Glenrock, Wyoming; and American President Resorts in Custer, South Dakota.

Employer name: Beacon Industries Inc., an aircraft engine and parts manufacturer, headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

Inspection site: 549 Cedar St., Newington, Connecticut 06111

Date inspection initiated: The inspection began Oct. 21, 2014, in response to a complaint.

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. — An inspection of a wood crate manufacturer found that permanent and temporary employees faced excessive noise, improper hand protection and respiratory irritation due to wood dust exposure at the North American Container Corp. in Adairsville.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is accepting 2015 applications for targeted-topic training grants and capacity-building training grants under the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program. A total of $3.5 million is available for nonprofit organizations, including community and faith-based organizations, employer associations, labor unions, joint labor/management associations, tribal organizations, and colleges and universities.

Employer: Saipan Hotel Corporation, doing business as Hafadai Beach Hotel

Site: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands

WILLISTON, N.D. — Dustin Payne traveled to North Dakota looking for a good job, the opportunity to use his skills and the chance to secure a future for him and his fiancée back in Alabama. Instead, the 28-year-old Marine veteran with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan to his credit is dead, the victim of a massive explosion that his Williston employer could have prevented.

Assistant raised dangers of used needles as Dr. N. Terry Fayad allegedly sought cost savings

BOSTON, Mass. — It began when Massachusetts dentist Dr. N. Terry Fayad changed his practice's procedure for disposing of contaminated needles. He told those in his Beverly-based office to first remove the protective caps before dropping them into sharps disposal containers, allegedly to fill the containers with more used needles and reduce the frequency and cost of their disposal.

Date of Action: March 11, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: MAGIC TOUCH CLEANING, INC. and GARY WALKER, individually.

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found Magic Touch Cleaning Inc., a janitorial services company in Lee's Summit, Missouri, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

SEATTLE — Although a Bellingham restaurant and a spa have closed, 101 workers once employed by the businesses will receive more than $1.3 million in back wages and damages, thanks to a Washington State jury. The decision is the result of a U.S. Department of Labor investigation that revealed numerous violations of federal labor law.

Employer name: Global Construction & Engineering Inc.

Inspection site: At the time of the inspection, workers were installing sewer lines at 3025 Wood Drive Center Point, Alabama 35215.

Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the Oct. 8, 2014 inspection as part of the agency's National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavation.

Employer name: American Spincast Inc.

Inspection site: Belton, Texas