WASHINGTON — A maintenance worker fell to his death Jan. 31 from a cell tower in Cameron County, Texas. The next day, a cell phone tower collapsed in Clarksburg, W.Va. Minutes later a second tower at the same Clarksburg site also fell. The collapse of these two towers resulted in the deaths of two workers and a firefighter responding to the scene, and sent two other employees to the hospital with serious injuries.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez signed a consular partnership agreement yesterday with Nestor E. Mendez, Ambassador of Belize to the United States.

BRAINTREE, Mass. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Wakefield excavation and utilities contractor Joseph P. Cardillo & Son Inc. for willful and serious violations of excavation safety standards at a Milton work site. Cardillo faces $144,400 in proposed fines following an inspection by OSHA's Braintree Area Office begun on Aug. 6, 2013, in response to an anonymous complaint.

WASHINGTON — In an announcement today at A National Symposium: Veterans' Employment in Construction, hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor and Joining Forces, First Lady Michelle Obama and U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez celebrated a broad coalition of construction employers and associations that have collectively pledged to hire 100,000 veterans over the next five years.

CLEVELAND — Workers suspended without pay for reporting workplace injuries has prompted a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department filed the lawsuit against The Ohio Bell Telephone Company, which operates as AT&T, on behalf of 13 employees who received unpaid suspensions after reporting work place injuries from 2011 to 2013.

Date of Action: Jan. 10, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Name of Defendants: Nickson’s Machine Shop Inc., Dennis W. Leal and Nickson’s Machine Shop 401(k) Savings Plan

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the January 2014 Employment Situation report released today:

Date of Action: Jan. 29, 2014

Type of Action: Order

Names of Defendant: Bruce E. Hartmann, Terry Hartmann, Mid States Express 401(k) Plan and Mid-States Express Inc. Employee Benefit Plan

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $2,136,749 to the state of Washington to improve and further promote the state’s short-time compensation program, a layoff prevention program also known as "work-sharing."

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1,510,320 grant to assist approximately 310 workers affected by layoffs at nine companies in the Milwaukee area.

"Many of those laid off were longtime employees of their companies, and they now face the challenge of finding a job comparable to the one they lost," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "This National Emergency Grant will provide them with opportunities for re-training and employment services that are crucial to helping them get back to work quickly."

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $2,136,749 to the state of Washington to improve and further promote the state’s short-time compensation program, a layoff prevention program also known as "work-sharing."

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1,510,320 grant to assist approximately 310 workers affected by layoffs at nine companies in the Milwaukee area.

"Many of those laid off were longtime employees of their companies, and they now face the challenge of finding a job comparable to the one they lost," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "This National Emergency Grant will provide them with opportunities for re-training and employment services that are crucial to helping them get back to work quickly."

Date of Action: Jan. 28, 2014

Type of Action: Decision and Order

Name(s) of Defendant: Intelligent System Solutions 401(k) Plan

Allegations: Intelligent System Solutions, doing business as, Cipher Associates 401(k) plan, based in Albany, N.Y., is an employee defined contribution plan established in 1998. The Plan was sponsored by Intelligent System Solutions, Inc. doing business as Cipher Associates.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained consent judgments against Robert La Courciere and Pamela Babbish, former trustees of the Fourslides Inc. pension plan; these judgments follow the recovery of $490,594 owed to the plan. A lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky alleged that over three years, La Courciere, Babbish, George Hofmeister and Fourslides Inc. improperly used pension funds. Judgments against the remaining defendants are being sought by the department in ongoing litigation.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained consent judgments against Robert La Courciere and Pamela Babbish, former trustees of the Fourslides Inc. pension plan; these judgments follow the recovery of $490,594 owed to the plan. A lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky alleged that over three years, La Courciere, Babbish, George Hofmeister and Fourslides Inc. improperly used pension funds. Judgments against the remaining defendants are being sought by the department in ongoing litigation.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1,520,243 National Emergency Grant to assist with cleanup and recovery efforts following the severe winter storm that battered Arkansas on Dec. 5 - 6, 2013. This grant will provide aid to affected communities in North Central, Northwest and Western Arkansas.

Date of Action: Feb. 3, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Burgess Baird Jr. and DSI Contracting Inc.

Date of Action:  Feb. 4, 2014

Type of Action:  Consent Order and Judgment

Names of Defendants: Daniel Deighan, Timothy Deighan, Sunset Golf LLC, Revolution Golf LLC, Sunset Golf, LLC 401(k) Employee Retirement Plan, and Sunset Golf LLC Group Health Plan in Loudonville, Ohio.

Date of Action: January 30, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Name of Defendant: Thomas R. Brewer, in his capacity as fiduciary of the Matthewson Corp. Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan

WARMINSTER, Pa. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Philadelphia Macaroni for 13 alleged workplace safety and health violations — five of them repeat — at its Warminster facility. OSHA proposed $75,483 in penalties following a July 2013 inspection initiated under its Site-Specific Targeting Program that directs enforcement resources to workplaces with the highest injury and illness rates.