WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded nearly $32 million in grants to 12 community-based organizations that will provide job training, education and support services to formerly incarcerated youth and women.

Conferences to be held in New York and New Jersey

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division today announced that it will host two conferences in areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy to provide information and training on the rules concerning prevailing wage requirements under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and the Service Contract Act. The conferences are a key component of the Wage and Hour Division's efforts to increase compliance with federal prevailing wage requirements.

WASHINGTON — Senior officials of the U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative today issued a joint statement with their counterparts from the Government of Colombia following the first meeting of the Labor Affairs Council under the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the launch of an online toolkit to help workers identify key issues related to retirement planning. The department's Employee Benefits Security Administration developed the toolkit in cooperation with the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to help workers understand important decisions related to employment-based plans, Social Security and Medicare.

Date of Action: May 29, 2013 

Type of Action: Consent Order and Judgment

Names of Defendants: Dayton Imaging Solutions Inc., Bryan Belden, and the Dayton Imaging Solutions Inc. SIMPLE IRA Plan located in Dayton, Ohio.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $500,000 National Emergency Grant incremental award to assist Rhode Island with continuing cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris today issued the following statement on the death of Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey:

"This morning, New Jersey and the nation lost a true statesman and a powerful progressive voice. Throughout nearly three decades in the United States Senate, Frank Lautenberg was an unrelenting champion for working people, social justice, environmental protection, public health and, most important, the people of his beloved New Jersey.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced that it has approved a process for JP Morgan Chase Bank NA and ADP Inc. to terminate and wind up approximately 180 defined contribution pension plans abandoned due to corporate crises or neglect. This action, conducted through EBSA's abandoned plan program, will give plan participants control over the fate of their retirement savings.

Date of Action: May 20, 2013

Type of Action: Consent Judgment and Order

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Cameron Garrison and Garrison Enterprises Inc.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 106 citations, 13 orders and one safeguard during special impact inspections conducted at nine coal mines and two metal/nonmetal mines last month.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $10 million National Emergency Grant award to create temporary jobs for eligible individuals to assist with cleanup and recovery efforts resulting from the severe storms and tornadoes that ravaged a five-county area of Oklahoma between May 18 and May 20. These storms resulted in widespread damage across the state during this same period. The funds are being awarded to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.

Date of Action: May 28, 2013

Type of Action: Consent order and judgment

Names of Defendant: Hostetler Door Inc., Glen Hostetler and Julie Hostetler, as fiduciaries to the Hostetler Door Inc. 401(k) Plan, and the Hostetler Door Inc. 401(k) Plan.

Date of Action: May 22, 2013

Type of Action: Complaint

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Nohl Crest Homes Corp., Kenneth R. Emery, Peter G. Timba, and Nohl Crest Homes Corp. Employee Stock Ownership plan

Date of Action: May 30, 2013

Type of Action: Consent Order and Judgment

Names of Defendant: David Scott Owens, individually and as a fiduciary to the Advetech Inc. Group 401(k) Plan, Advetech Inc. and the Advetech Inc. Group 401(k) Plan

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury today issued final rules on employment-based wellness programs. The final rules support workplace health promotion and prevention as a means to reduce the burden of chronic illness, improve health and limit growth of health care costs, while ensuring that individuals are protected from unfair underwriting practices that could otherwise reduce benefits based on health status.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $15,438,000 National Emergency Grant increment to create 1,191 temporary jobs for eligible workers to continue cleanup and recovery efforts following the widespread severe storms and winds that caused damage across Ohio between June 29 and July 2, 2012.

WASHINGTON – A $175,318 National Emergency Grant was announced today by the U.S. Department of Labor to assist about 70 of the 110 workers affected by the closure of Boise White Paper LLC in St. Helens, Ore.

Awarded to the Oregon Department of Community College and Workforce Development, the grant will provide eligible workers with access to training and a broad range of support services, in conjunction with other services they may receive as a result of their eligibility for Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits.

WASHINGTON — "Because We Are EQUAL to the Task" is the theme of this year's National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Chosen by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, the theme reflects the reality that people with disabilities have the education, training, experience and desire to be successful in the workplace.

Date of Action: May 22, 2013

Type of Action: Complaint and Consent Judgment

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Vineet Kalucha

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York seeking the appointment of an independent fiduciary to manage the 401(k) plan of the defunct David J. Hardy Construction Co. of Syracuse.