WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced upcoming webcasts to increase awareness and understanding of basic responsibilities associated with operating private sector retirement plans.

“Getting It Right – Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities” webcasts will take place on Wednesday, August 7 and Thursday, August 8 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. EDT. The webcasts are part of the agency’s national fiduciary education campaign and will feature speakers from the department.

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment ordering a Plymouth Meeting insurance brokerage firm and its chief executive officer to return $272,722 to plan participants and beneficiaries. The department alleges that Dietrich & Associates Inc., and CEO and sole shareholder Kurt E. Dietrich, obtained the money inappropriately when they provided services to an Employee Retirement Income Security Act-covered retirement plan sponsored by Memorial Hospital-West Volusia Inc. in Deland, Fla.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health today issued a hazard alert to urge employers that use 1-bromopropane (1-BP) to take appropriate steps to protect workers from exposure.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Tom Perez today issued the following statement regarding Senate committee markup of the Workforce Investment Act of 2013:

"To create opportunity for the American people and ensure a better bargain for the middle class, we need strong partnerships to build a world-class workforce.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today released a mid-year summary of mining deaths across the country. During the first half of 2013, 18 miners died in work-related accidents at the nation's mines, one less than in the first half of 2012.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky on July 26 granted in part the U.S. Department of Labor's motion for a preliminary injunction against George S. Hofmeister and Bernard Tew, former fiduciaries of four Lexington-based pension plans: the Hillsdale Salaried, Hillsdale Hourly, Revstone Casting Fairfield GMP Local 359, and Fourslides Inc.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it has renewed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on sharing information on retirement and investment matters. The memorandum was signed by Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and SEC Chair Mary Jo White.

BOSTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded a grant of $49,329 to the state of Vermont to create and promote a Self-Employment Assistance program for individuals who are eligible to receive Emergency Unemployment Compensation. The Vermont SEA program will connect EUC claimants to self-employment and training services through referrals to the Vermont Small Business Development Center.

Type of Action: Consent order and judgment

Names of Defendants: George Hall and the Stainless Steel Fabricating, Inc. Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension Plan in Columbus, Wis. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that federal contractor L&M Construction has agreed to settle allegations that it permitted sexual harassment, retaliated against workers who complained about a hostile work environment, and interfered with a federal investigation. The conciliation agreement entered into by L&M and the department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs resolves these and numerous other violations of law at the company's construction work sites across the Washington metropolitan area.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced the award of up to $2 million to one or more organizations to achieve improved compliance with labor laws in the Democratic Republic of Georgia.

The aim of the project(s) is to improve government labor laws and respect for international labor standards while enhancing the effectiveness of worker organizations in representing workers' rights and interests. The project(s) will be funded up to four years and six months.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending July 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 343,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 336,000. The 4-week moving average was 345,250, a decrease of 1,250 from the previous week's revised average of 346,500.

Date of Action: April 7, 2013

Type of Action: Stipulation and Order

Name(s) of Defendant: OPT, Inc.; Joyce Olszewski, the executor of the estate of Anthony Olszweski; Joycelyn Tran; Jonathan Jones; and the OPT, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan. 

CHICAGO – Under terms of a consent order and judgment, $150,226 must be restored to the Profit Sharing Plan of the now defunct Cougar Package Designers Inc., the U.S. Department of Labor announced today. The judgment follows an investigation by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration that found plan assets were improperly transferred and commingled with the Lemont-based company’s operating funds between Jan. 1, 2009 and Sept. 30, 2010, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 157 citations, 10 orders and one safeguard during special impact inspections conducted at nine coal mines and four metal/nonmetal mines last month.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of funds for states to improve program integrity, performance, and technology infrastructure systems for the Unemployment Insurance program. The grants are intended to accelerate actions to reduce UI improper payment rates; provide an opportunity for modernizing UI tax and benefits systems, and enable the design of technology-based tools to prevent, detect and recover improper UI payments.

Date of Action: February 8, 2013

Type of Action: Order Granting Motion to Appoint Independent Fiduciary

Name(s) of Defendant: Michael D. Williams, Trustee to the Power & Data Technology, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan

NEW YORK — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in federal court in which the trustee of two defined benefit pension plans admits to entering into $4,232,915 in alleged unlawful plan transactions between 2002 and 2010. Colette Mordo, trustee and fiduciary to the pension plans of the Manhattan-based Sadimara Knitwear Inc. and the Stallion Knits Ltd. pension plans also agrees to restore, up to that amount, any shortfall in assets owed to the plans' participants and beneficiaries.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1,054,112 National Emergency Grant to assist Arkansas with cleanup and recovery efforts after the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that struck the state May 30 to June 3.

"The destruction caused by this severe storm affected communities across Arkansas," said Eric Seleznow, acting assistant secretary of labor for employment and training. "There is a great deal of recovery work to be done, and the Labor Department is committed to helping Arkansans rebuild their communities."

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a revised "List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor," adding six new products from five countries. Federal contractors supplying products on the list must certify the goods were not produced by forced or indentured child labor in accordance with Executive Order 13126.