ARLINGTON, Va. – Preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration released today reveal that 37 miners died in work-related accidents at the nation's mines in 2011. There were 21 coal mining and 16 metal/nonmetal mining fatalities last year, compared with 48 and 23, respectively, in 2010, making 2011 the year with the second-lowest number of mining deaths since statistics were first recorded in 1910.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs has issued a final rule implementing the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act's exclusion for recreational vessel workers. The rule defines what constitutes a "recreational vessel" when applying the exclusion.

Date of Action:  Dec. 29, 2011

Type of Action:  Complaint for breach of the Employment Retirement Investment Security Act and Injunctive Relief

Names of Defendants: Kurt Ver Helst, D.C., P.C., an Iowa Corporation; Kurt Ver Helst individually and as a fiduciary to the Kurt Ver Helst DC Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Mark Eldridge, individually and as a service provider to the Kurt Ver Helst DC Employee Stock Ownership Plan; and the Kurt Ver Helst DC Employee Stock Ownership Plan, an employee benefit plan.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement on the recess appointment of Sharon Block to the National Labor Relations Board. Block currently serves as the U.S. Department of Labor's deputy assistant secretary of labor for congressional affairs.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending December 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 381,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 366,000. The 4-week moving average was 375,000, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week's revised average of 380,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent for the week ending December 17, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate.

WINESBURG, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Case Farms Processing Inc., which operates Case Farms Chicken in Winesburg, for 61 safety and health violations. Violations related to OSHA's process safety management standards allegedly resulted in an ammonia release at the facility on June 30. Proposed fines total $288,000.

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited government contractor Huntington Ingalls Industries International Shipbuilding Inc. and five subcontractors for a total of 50 safety and health violations. OSHA opened its inspection after receiving a complaint in June about safety hazards at the Pascagoula shipyard.

Piping Technology and Products misled OSHA about amputation hazards

HOUSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Piping Technology and Products Inc. for 13 willful and 17 serious violations for exposing workers to the risk of amputations and other serious injuries from dangerous machinery, as well as other hazards, at the company's Houston facility. Proposed penalties total $1,013,000.

WASHINGTON Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement on the agreement to extend the payroll tax cut and Unemployment Insurance benefits:

I m delighted, particularly as Americans look forward to spending the holidays with family and loved ones, that members of Congress have put partisan politics behind and reached an agreement on extending the payroll tax cuts and Unemployment Insurance benefits.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending December 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 364,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 368,000. The 4-week moving average was 380,250, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's revised average of 388,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.8 percent for the week ending December 10, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate.

Grants will enhance innovative employment and training programs

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced the availability of approximately $98.5 million through the Workforce Innovation Fund to support employment and training services. The fund invests in programs that support, evaluate and enhance workforce investment strategies, particularly for vulnerable populations. A solicitation for grant applications will be published in the Dec. 23 edition of the Federal Register.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 315 citations, orders and safeguards during special impact inspections conducted at 10 coal mines and six metal/nonmetal mines last month. The coal mines were issued 200 citations, 50 orders and one safeguard, while the metal/nonmetal operations were issued 62 citations and two orders.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the minimum hourly wage rates that employers must pay H-2A workers in order to ensure that the wages of similarly employed U.S. workers are not adversely affected. These H-2A adverse effect wage rates are calculated for each occupation and location using the U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual wages rates from its regional Farm Labor Survey of nonfamily field and livestock workers.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $992,586 grant to assist about 180 workers affected by the closure of Solo Cup in North Andover, Mass.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a $1,424,500 National Emergency Grant increment to provide re-employment services to approximately 1,100 workers affected by layoffs that occurred in multiple industries throughout Louisiana.

SEATTLE – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has ordered Omaha, Neb.-based Union Pacific Railroad Co. to immediately reinstate an employee in Idaho who was terminated after reporting a work-related injury. OSHA also has ordered the company to pay the employee more than $300,000 in back wages, compensatory damages, attorney's fees and punitive damages.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs has awarded a $13 million cooperative agreement to nongovernmental organization Desarrollo y Autogestión to combat exploitative child labor in Peru. To implement the project, Desarrollo y Autogestión will partner with World Learning, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, and DESCO, a development organization.

BOSTON – Stephen Thomas, individually and as a trustee of the Gagne Precast Concrete Products Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan, has agreed to restore $225,000 to the Gagne ESOP and take other corrective action to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. In a concurrent voluntary settlement agreement with the department, Thomas has agreed to pay $75,000 to the Frank L. Woodworth Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan, for which he also was a trustee.

GOLDSBORO, N.C. – The U.S. Department of Labor is suing Jeffreys Seed Co. and its corporate officers to restore $20,324.08 in employee contributions to the defunct Goldsboro company’s employee pension and health plans. The department’s lawsuit resulted from an investigation by its Employee Benefits Security Administration that revealed violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by the company, its president, Edward Taylor Jeffreys, and its corporate secretary, James T. Jeffreys III.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending December 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 366,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 385,000. The 4-week moving average was 387,750, a decrease of 6,500 from the previous week's revised average of 394,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent for the week ending December 3, unchanged from the prior week's revised rate.