WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1,576,221 National Emergency Grant to assist approximately 250 workers affected by layoffs at five companies in Hampden County.

EDISON, N.J. — Plant, tree and shrub firm Barton Nursery Inc. has signed a consent judgment agreeing to pay $27,056 in back wages to 12 nonimmigrant foreign workers hired under the H-2A visa program of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Investigators from the Wage and Hour Division's Southern New Jersey District Office found the Edison-based company failed to pay workers the proper wages and failed to retain adequate and accurate records for three years. The business will pay $36,615 in civil monetary penalties because of the H-2A violations.

SOUTH MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Following injuries to seven workers at Cooper Power Systems LLC, including chemical burns to the skin and irritation to their respiratory tracts requiring urgent medical treatment, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the company for six violations, including two willful violations. The workers were injured after exposure to an acid mixture while cleaning a spill that occurred at the facility on Oct. 30, 2013.

AURORA, Ill. — R.C. Wegman Construction Co. and the Fox Valley Building and Construction Trades established a strategic partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to protect workers during the construction project for the New Main Aurora Public Library. The Illinois On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program is also a partner in the project.

CANTON, Ohio — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that Republic Steel has agreed to settle alleged health and safety violations at the company's facilities in Lorain, Canton and Massillon, Ohio, as well as Blasdell, N.Y. The comprehensive settlement, in which the company agrees to abate all cited hazards and implement numerous safeguards to prevent future injuries, addresses more than 100 safety and health violations found by OSHA at the company's facilities during inspections conducted in the fall of 2013.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of up to $150 million in funding through a new Job-Driven National Emergency Grant program to train workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own for jobs in high-demand industries.

SEATTLE — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington that temporarily freezes the account balance of Brenda Lukas-Jones, former president of Lukas Machine Inc., in the company's 401(k) profit sharing plan and trust. On April 14, the department filed a complaint against Lukas Machine Inc., Lukas-Jones and others, alleging that they had violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act between April 2008 and October 2011, causing more than $41,000 in losses to the 401(k) plan.

MINNEAPOLIS — A U.S. Labor Department investigation has resulted in the debarment of Garcia Forest Service LLC, and its president, Samuel Garcia, from eligibility for further service contracts with any U.S. government agency for three years.

Roeder Construction ignores safety requirements at residential jobsite

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — A 42-year-old worker fell 16 feet to his death and a 25-year-old co-worker suffered serious injuries after their employer, Roeder Construction, failed to provide either man with fall protection as they worked on a roof, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has determined.

FORT DODGE, Iowa — Canadian National Railway, doing business as Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad, has been found in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for disciplining an employee at its Fort Dodge Yard complex for taking doctor-ordered time off.

DALLAS — To enhance workplace safety and health for workers in North Texas, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration signed two alliance agreements today with the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association and the Workers Defense Project in Dallas to commemorate Workers' Memorial Day.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Serious safety and health violations for exposing workers to dangerous welding fumes and other hazards has prompted citations for Dixie Tank Co. in Jacksonville. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the company for 23 safety and health violations, including exposing full-time and temporary workers to health hazards from exposure to the toxic chemical hexavalent chromium in excess of federal standards.

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa — Absolute Waste Removal has been found in violation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for wrongfully terminating a truck driver for raising safety concerns during the reorganization of company routes. Headquartered in Clear Lake, Absolute Waste Removal was ordered to reinstate the driver to his former position with all pay, benefits and rights, in addition to paying back wages of $23,203, plus interest.

HOUSTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited American Sheet Metal Co. for failing to correct safety hazards. OSHA addressed these hazards — which included exposing employees to dangerous unguarded machinery — in a previous inspection. The company's Houston facility received four failure-to-abate violations, with a proposed penalty of $124,000.

FRANKFORT, Ill. — Rogers Roofing Inc. has been issued citations for two safety violations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for exposing workers to fall hazards at a residential site on Feb. 28. Proposed penalties for the company, which has been cited by OSHA six times in the past six years for similar violations, total $44,660.

SEATTLE — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington that temporarily freezes the account balance of Brenda Lukas-Jones, former president of Lukas Machine Inc., in the company's 401(k) profit sharing plan and trust. On April 14, the department filed a complaint against Lukas Machine Inc., Lukas-Jones and others, alleging that they had violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act between April 2008 and October 2011, causing more than $41,000 in losses to the 401(k) plan.

MINNEAPOLIS — A U.S. Labor Department investigation has resulted in the debarment of Garcia Forest Service LLC, and its president, Samuel Garcia, from eligibility for further service contracts with any U.S. government agency for three years.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $5,639,376 National Emergency Grant supplemental award to continue providing services to workers affected by layoffs and mine closures occurring within the coal mining industry in West Virginia.

"This supplemental funding will continue to serve workers in the coal mining industry who have been impacted by a job loss, giving them access to critical training and job search services," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez.

BILLINGS, Mont. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Cenex Harvest States Inc. for 19 violations of workplace safety and health standards, including 14 serious, three repeat and two other-than-serious violations, at grain-handling facilities in Montana. The company faces $211,000 in proposed fines as a result of four inspections at Montana facilities in Cut Bank, Glendive, Denton and Valier.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Union Pacific Railroad has been ordered to reinstate an injured employee and pay the worker more than $85,000 in damages following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA found that the company, based in Omaha, Neb., was in violation of the whistleblower provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act for terminating an employee following the reporting of a workplace injury that occurred at the company's North Platte, Neb., terminal.