MOUNTAINSIDE, N.J. — In the past five years, more than 1,100 attendants at Shell, Exxon, BP and other leading brand gas stations in New Jersey have been denied the minimum wage and, in some cases, overtime pay. These workers have received $5.5 million in back wages and damages recovered thanks to a multiyear enforcement initiative conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 195 citations and 15 orders during special impact inspections conducted at 12 coal mines and five metal and nonmetal mines in February.

Begun in force in April 2010, the monthly inspections involve mines that merit increased agency attention and enforcement due to their poor compliance history or particular compliance concerns. The following are the details of one mine's inspection:

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico — Alpha Guards Management Inc. provides security guards to ensure the safety of employees of businesses and government agencies in Puerto Rico. Yet, the San Juan-based employer failed to protect its own employees by violating their right to a fair day's pay for a fair day's work.

Employer: Wave USA Inc., doing business as Ka Nalu Wedding, Blue Blue Flowers

Site: Honolulu

Date of Action: March 24, 2015

Type of Action: Consent Judgment and Order

Name of Defendants:  Holden Sand & Gravel, Joseph Montalto, fiduciary for the Holden Sand and Gravel SIMPLE IRA Plan.

Employer name: Viacell LLC doing business as A Devoted Care Provider

Site: Corporate office in Stafford, Texas, and six group homes investigated in the Houston area

FAIRFIELD, Ala. — Like most of us, Leo Bridges and Edward Bryant left for work one day in September 2014, probably thinking about some rest and relaxation when the shift ended. Like many, they figured their managers and employer would ensure they were safe at work. Bridges and Bryant were wrong; they were caught in a fiery explosion in the Flux Building, which U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors said occurred because U.S. Steel Corp. put workers at risk, so as not to slow production at its Fairfield facility.

WASHINGTON — Returning home from prison can be hard, particularly without the benefits of a stable job. Without employment, the likelihood of recidivism rises. To provide the support, training and assistance needed to find and keep a good job, the U.S. Labor Department today announced a $27 million Training to Work — Adult Reentry grant program — to help thousands of soon-to-be-released inmates become productive citizens.

CHICAGO — Left unguarded, dangerous machines with moving parts cause hundreds of thousands of workers to suffer finger, hand or foot amputations and other serious injuries each year in the United States. Despite these dangers, one Chicago-based manufacturer has repeatedly ignored the risks and has been found in violation of safety and health standards four times in the last five years.

BOWDON, Ga. — Dollar General Corp. has been cited again by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, this time for four repeated safety violations found in a December 2014 inspection of the Bowdon store at 203 Wedowee St. OSHA initiated the inspection after receiving a complaint and has proposed penalties of $83,050.

Employer name: K.W. McAvoy & Son Inc.

Inspection site: 3500 Greensboro Road, Washington, Georgia 30673

Date investigation initiated: OSHA initiated the investigation on Nov. 5, 2014, after the agency received a complaint related to safety and health hazards at the facility.

DU QUOIN, Ill. — A truck driver, who was fired the morning after he filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration alleging unsafe working conditions, will receive $33,000 under terms of a settlement agreement. The agreement resolves a lawsuit brought against employers Perry Ridge Landfill Inc., Panther City Hauling and their corporate officer, Joseph Mazza, for violating the whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.

Employer name: Pregis Corp., a manufacturer of foam, paper and plastic packaging materials

Inspection site: 300 Lower Warren St., Queensbury, New York 12804

Employer name: SER Construction Partners Ltd.

Site: Houston, Texas

Date initiated: OSHA's Houston North Area Office began the investigation in January under the National Emphasis Program on Trenching and Excavations.

Date of Action: March 19, 2015

Type of Action: Amended Consent Judgment and Order

Names of Defendant: Fletcher-Thompson, Inc. Savings Plan and Michael S. Marcinek, in their capacities as fiduciaries of the Fletcher-Thompson Inc. Savings Plan

State: Massachusetts

Type of Award: National Emergency Grant incremental funding

Incremental Award Released: $854,851

Total Award Amount Approved: $1,576,221

Funding Awarded to: Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development

Number of Workers to Be Served: About 300

WASHINGTON — The Bank of New York Mellon has agreed to repay $84 million to employee benefit plan customers who were victimized through the bank's "standing instruction" foreign exchange trading program. The agreement was reached as part of a larger settlement that resolves private lawsuits against the bank as well as suits brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the New York State Attorney General.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration has announced a direct final rule that provides a two-month grace period for participant-directed individual account plans (e.g., 401(k) plans) to provide annual investment and plan-related information to participants.

ATLANTA — The Federal Highway Administration, the state of Georgia and local government organizations are partnering with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to sponsor a one-hour Safety Stand-Down at construction sites in Georgia in conjunction with National Highway Work Zone Awareness Week from March 23-27.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today issued the following statement regarding the release of the 2014 Employment Situation of Veterans report by the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics: