HARTFORD, Conn. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Radcliff Wire Inc. for serious and repeat violations of workplace safety standards following an inspection by OSHA's Hartford Area Office. An inspection of the Bristol wire products manufacturer began on July 23, 2013, under OSHA's Site Specific Targeting Program, resulting in $109,340 in proposed fines.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today announced the awarding of two grants totaling $900,000 to fund services provided by Veterans' Employment and Training Service. Grants of $450,000 each were awarded to Advocates for Human Potential Inc. in Sudbury, Mass., and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans in Washington, D.C. The grants are being awarded through the department's Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending January 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 348,000, an increase of 19,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 329,000. The 4-week moving average was 333,000, an increase of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 332,250.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The City of Providence, the Providence School Board and the Harold A. Birch Vocational Center and School have signed a settlement agreement to pay $250,859 in back wages to 60 student workers with disabilities following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division that found violations of the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

NEW YORK — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Cooper Tank & Welding Corp., doing business as Cooper Tank Recycling, for eight serious health and safety violations following the heat-related death of a 64-year-old worker at the Brooklyn recycling facility on 222 Maspeth Ave.

ARLINGTON, Va. — In a speech before attendees of the West Virginia Coal Association's 41st Annual Mining Symposium in Charleston, W.Va., today, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph A. Main discussed actions taken by the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the mining community over the past year to improve mine safety and health.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $367,956 National Emergency Grant to assist approximately 142 of the 285 workers affected by the closure of two Xerox Commercial Services LLC facilities, located in Coos Bay and North Bend, Ore., respectively.

ARLINGTON, Va. — In a speech before attendees of the West Virginia Coal Association's 41st Annual Mining Symposium in Charleston, W.Va., today, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph A. Main discussed actions taken by the Mine Safety and Health Administration and the mining community over the past year to improve mine safety and health.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $367,956 National Emergency Grant to assist approximately 142 of the 285 workers affected by the closure of two Xerox Commercial Services LLC facilities, located in Coos Bay and North Bend, Ore., respectively.

Date of Action: Jan. 29, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendant: Applied Technology Systems Inc.; Clark V. Hayes; and the Applied Technology Systems Inc. Retirement Plan located in Cleveland, Ohio

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $702,741 National Emergency Grant incremental award to continue creating temporary jobs for eligible individuals to assist with the cleanup and recovery efforts resulting from the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding in Arkansas that occurred between May 30 and June 3, 2013. Funds are being awarded to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 135 citations, 24 orders and one safeguard during special impact inspections conducted at 11 coal mines and two metal and nonmetal mines in December.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $702,741 National Emergency Grant incremental award to continue creating temporary jobs for eligible individuals to assist with the cleanup and recovery efforts resulting from the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding in Arkansas that occurred between May 30 and June 3, 2013. Funds are being awarded to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.

BLUEFIELD, Va. — U.S. Magistrate Judge Pamela Meade Sargent ordered the garnishment of an additional $5,002 in liquidated damages from the Tazewell County accounting firm of Raymond A. Froy Jr., CPA, P.C., and its president, Raymond A. Froy Jr., after ruling that the defendants failed to meet the terms of a consent judgment with the U.S. Department of Labor.

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited The Roof Authority Inc. of Fort Pierce for one willful and one serious safety violation following an August 2013 inspection at a job site on North Palm-Aire Drive in Pompano Beach. OSHA conducted its inspection as part of the agency's regional emphasis program for falls in construction. Proposed penalties total $59,290.

WASHINGTON — Senior officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and their Government of Panama counterparts today concluded the first Labor Affairs Council meeting under the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement in Panama City, Panama. During the Jan. 27-28 meetings, officials reaffirmed their commitments under the Labor Chapter of the TPA and discussed:

Date of Action: Jan. 17, 2014

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Raymond Orsuto; 800 West Salon Inc.; 800 West Salon Inc. Retirement Savings Plan

Allegations: The department filed a complaint against Raymond Orsuto, 800 West Salon Inc. and the 800 West Salon Inc. Retirement Savings Plan on Aug. 13, 2013, alleging that Orsuto and the company failed to ensure employee contributions to the plan were remitted and remitted on a timely basis from 2007 through 2009.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a settlement with Western Asset Management Company, a subsidiary of Legg Mason Inc. This follows investigations, which revealed the purchase of prohibited securities that resulted in losses to the accounts of nearly 100 employee benefit plans and investment funds holding plan assets. The settlement also resolves findings that the company engaged in prohibited cross-trading of securities in the accounts of other retirement plans and funds, which caused additional losses.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of approximately $6 million in grants for the fourth round of the Workforce Data Quality Initiative, a program designed to improve the quality and availability of workforce data and help states to better understand how education and workforce development programs complement each other.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez has issued the following statement regarding the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics report released today on union membership in 2013:

"Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that, in 2013, the unionization rate of employed wage and salary workers was 11.3 percent. Among private-sector employees, the rate was 6.7 percent.