CLIFFWOOD BEACH, N.J. ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit seeking to recover losses suffered by participants in the SJP Group Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan. The department’s suit is based on an investigation conducted by its Employee Benefits Security Administration that found violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded a $420,518 grant to assist about 100 Connecticut workers affected by layoffs at the businesses of Klingberg Family Centers in New Britain, Moore Wallace North America Inc. (known as RR Donnelley) in Windsor and Raytel Cardiac Services Inc. (which also operated as Philips Remote Cardiac Services) in Windsor.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending July 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 386,000, an increase of 34,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 352,000. The 4-week moving average was 375,500, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 377,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending July 7, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered two railroad companies to pay three workers a total of $650,729.14 in back wages and damages for retaliating against them for reporting workplace injuries and safety concerns. The orders resulted from investigations conducted by the Chicago office of the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which were initiated upon receiving complaints from the employees.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today released a midyear summary of mining deaths across the country. During the first half of 2012, 19 miners died in work-related accidents at the nation's mines.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced six new appointments and 21 reappointments of members to the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship. The committee is charged with expanding apprenticeships into all sectors of the economy and building partnerships that increase apprenticeship opportunities for Americans.

Agreement includes $550,000 in compensation for more than 250 job applicants who are African-American, of Asian or Hispanic descent

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced the availability of a $1.1 million grant to fund a cooperative agreement to manage and operate the National Technical Assistance and Demonstration Center on Preparing Youth with Disabilities for Employment. The center will build capacity within and across youth service delivery systems to improve employment and postsecondary education outcomes for youth with disabilities.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration will hold a free women’s retirement savings forum on Saturday, July 28, 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. CDT, at the University of Illinois-Chicago, Student Center East Building, Illinois Room A, 750 S. Halsted St., Chicago, Ill. 60607. “What Every Woman Should Know About Retirement Savings and How to Make It Last” will be open to the public and the media.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor that followed an investigation by its Employee Benefits Security Administration, a federal judge has ordered the president of Columbus-based Clark Graphics, Mary Clark, to restore $505,551.46 to the company’s two employee retirement plans. Additionally, Marcia Dowdell, the president of Pension Retirement Planning who served as administrator for the plans, has been ordered to restore funds to both plans.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration has announced improved procedures for plan sponsors who wish to obtain fiduciary relief for a service provider’s failure to comply with the department’s plan-level fee disclosure rule. http://webapps.dol.gov/FederalRegister/HtmlDisplay.aspx?DocId=26218&AgencyId=8&DocumentType=2

Partnership aims to increase employment of individuals with disabilities

SAN FRANCISCO ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance will host a two-day health benefits laws compliance seminar in Billings, Mont., for small and mid-size employers, third-party administrators and insurers July 25 and 26. The seminar is designed to provide practical information, helpful tips and clarification regarding federal as well as state laws. The event is free, and interested parties are encouraged to register early.

FLORENCE, Ky. – In remarks today in Florence before representatives of several Midwest state aggregate associations, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph A. Main outlined a number of important initiatives and reforms his agency has undertaken over the last two years.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration have signed a memorandum of agreement to facilitate coordination and cooperation between agencies regarding the enforcement of the Federal Railroad Safety Act's whistleblower provision. The act protects railroad employees from retaliation when they report safety violations, or work-related personal injuries or illnesses.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $6 million competitive solicitation for a cooperative agreement to combat child labor in the rubber-producing areas of Liberia.

Qualified applicants should focus on children who are engaged in or at risk of being involved in various forms of child labor in rubber-producing areas. Among other things, applicants must:

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that OSHA and BP Products North America Inc. have resolved 409 of the 439 citations issued by the agency in October 2009 for willful violations of OSHA's process safety management standard at BP's refinery in Texas City, Texas. Under the agreement, BP will pay $13,027,000 in penalties, and already has abated or will abate all existing violations by the end of 2012.

BOSTON – On behalf of its Mine Safety and Health Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor has filed complaints in U.S. district courts against mining companies in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire to collect $267,724 in unpaid civil penalties resulting from federal mine safety violations. The complaints also seek injunctions and cash performance bonds from each mine operator to guarantee that future penalties will be paid.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration has proposed $594,100 in fines to Manalapan Mining Co. Inc.'s P-1 Mine in Harlan County, Ky., for four violations. The proposed penalties were assessed as a result of an investigation into the June 2011 death of a miner who was fatally injured when a large section of rock fell from the underground coal mine's wall, or rib, and knocked him into a dolly.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending July 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 350,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 376,000. The 4-week moving average was 376,500, a decrease of 9,750 from the previous week's revised average of 386,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending June 30, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate.