ARLINGTON, Va. — On Dec. 6, the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration marks National Miners Day, designated by Congress to honor the contributions and sacrifices of miners, both past and present. The date commemorates the worst industrial mine accident in American history when 362 miners perished in an explosion at the No. 6 and No. 8 mines in Monongah, West Virginia, on this date in 1907.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that Liverpool employer General Interior Systems Inc., and its president, Jeffrey T. Mento, violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act by misclassifying more than 300 employees working as drywall installers as independent contractors and failed to pay them overtime. The department obtained a judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York that required payment of $380,000 in back wages to the affected employees.

MOUNDS, Ill. — A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation found that Environmental Remediation and Recovery Inc. did not have equipment or trained personnel to rescue a 27-year-old worker promptly who collapsed and later died while cleaning a rail car. OSHA has cited seven willful and 14 serious safety violations, many involving permit-required confined space safety regulations.

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — Workers constructing a precast concrete building at 33 Ashburton Ave. in Yonkers faced potentially deadly or disabling falls, electrocution and other hazards, which led the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to cite four New York contractors for safety and health violations.

WASHINGTON — Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, today issued the following statement on the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2013 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses:

EL PASO, Texas — A federal inspection prompted by employee complaints found workers exposed to amputations and other hazards at D&D Manufacturing Inc. The El Paso company has been cited for 41 safety and health violations, including 36 serious violations, by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

EVANSTON, Ill. — U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors found employees at Arturo's Painting & Restauration Inc. being exposed to dangerous levels of lead-based paint while they manually scraped and power sanded a home exterior in Evanston without personal protective equipment. OSHA initiated an inspection of the company under the National Emphasis Program for Lead, which identified 17 serious safety violations for which the company was cited.

CHICAGO — The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 Apprenticeship and Skill Improvement Program and the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration have renewed an alliance to protect and educate workers on construction and excavation hazards.

WASHINGTON — A new rule prohibiting discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity in the federal contracting workforce is being announced today by the U.S. Department of Labor. The rule implements Executive Order 13672, which was signed by President Obama on July 21.

MINOT, N.D. — An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that load operators at three Watco Terminal & Port Services' locations in Belfield, Stanley and Tioga were not paid for pre-shift work, as required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Watco will pay 261 workers a total of $304,094 in overtime back wages.

EVERGREEN, Ala. — Guyoung Tech USA Inc. was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 14 safety and health violations. A July 2014 inspection of the company's Evergreen facility found the company exposed workers to potentially fatal hazards, including amputations and electric shock. The inspection was initiated as part of the agency's Regional Emphasis Program for Safety Hazards in the Auto Parts Industry. Proposed penalties total $68,000.

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. — A 24-year-old temporary maintenance employee suffered severe burns from electrical shock while on assignment for Parallel Employment Group of Wisconsin Inc. Working at the Arvato Digital Services LLC distribution center in Pleasant Prairie, the employee came in contact with an energized electrical source and suffered electrical shock. This caused severe burns and left the employee unable to work for more than four months after the May 19, 2014, incident.

MILFORD, Ill. — A Wagner's LLC employee didn't expect to spend his 25th birthday in the hospital, but that happened on May 31, 2014. The employee cleared birdseed from an industrial mixing tank at the Milford facility and had his left hand and arm severely injured after they were caught in a moving piece of machinery. He had been on the job for two months.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today announced the Honorable Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa as the recipient of the department's 2014 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor. Secretary Perez presented the award to Sen. Harkin at a ceremony today at the department.

Date of Action: Nov. 25, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendant: William Robin Rose and Rose Business Forms Company d/b/a Rose Printing Services, Inc., as fiduciaries to the Rose Printing Services Inc. Employees 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan, Rose Printing Services Inc. Employees Health Plan and Rose Printing Services Inc. Employees Dental Plan in Fowlerville, Michigan

SHARONVILLE, Ohio — A U.S. Postal Service mail handler was terminated after being transported to a medical facility for treatment of a workplace injury. The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against the Postal Service on behalf of the employee at the Sharonville facility. The lawsuit seeks restoration of lost pay and benefits totaling approximately $9,000.

OMAHA, Neb. — Four employees of Affordable Exteriors Inc. were routinely exposed to dangerous fall hazards while completing a residential roofing job for homebuilder Hildy Homes in Elkhorn. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Affordable Exteriors for two willful violations, carrying proposed penalties of $140,000, for failure to provide required fall protection and fall protection training. The Omaha-based company has a lengthy history of violating OSHA standards.

SIMPSON, Pa. — Fall hazards, inadequate machine guarding and failure to implement lockout/tagout procedures were among the 38 workplace safety hazards cited by U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors at Doyle & Roth Manufacturing Co. Inc.

MILWAUKEE — A 39-year-old worker and father of three was crushed to death on May 22, 2014, while repairing a bin at the Ready Mix Batch Plant owned by Nuvo Construction Co. in Milwaukee. The following day, an employee for a different company, Sonag Ready Mix LLC, completed repairs to a bin sensor at the Ready Mix Batch Plant while exposed to the same hazard.

ODESSA, Texas — A recent inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that workers at WNCO Valve International Inc. in Odessa faced dangers, such as struck-by flying objects, electrical shock and unguarded machinery, which could have caused death or serious injuries, including concussions, burns or amputations.