$68,000 in prizes awarded for innovative use of department data

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded a $7,511,960 National Emergency Grant increment to the California Employment Development Department to continue cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of the severe storms that struck California between Dec. 17, 2010, and Jan. 4, 2011.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending October 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 402,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 404,000. The 4-week moving average was 405,500, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average of 403,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent for the week ending October 15, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate of 3.0 percent.

Date of Action: Oct. 27, 2011

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendant: James T. Ledford, Davis Equipment Sales & Service, Inc., and the Davis Equipment Sales & Service, Inc., Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees Individual Retirement Accounts Plan located in Salem, Ind.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 374 citations, orders and safeguards during special impact inspections conducted at 18 coal mines and two metal/nonmetal mines last month. The coal mines were issued 292 citations, 28 orders and one safeguard, while the metal/nonmetal operations were issued 52 citations and one order.

2,645 workers in Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas affected

CARROLLTON, Texas — Hilton Reservations Worldwide LLC, doing business as Hilton Reservations and Customer Care in Carrollton, has agreed to pay $715,507 in minimum and overtime back wages to 2,645 current and former customer service employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division that found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

17-year-old employee killed at meat rendering plant in 2009

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards will publish a final rule revising Form LM-30, the Labor Organization Officer and Employee Report, in the Federal Register on Oct. 26.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Corpus Christi Grain Co. in Corpus Christi for six willful and 20 serious violations with total proposed penalties of $258,900. OSHA's Corpus Christi Area Office initiated its inspection at the company's facility on Talbert Lane after it was reported that a worker was engulfed while emptying grain from a storage bin. The employee was rescued due to the exceptional efforts of the Corpus Christi Fire Department.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today that it has reached a settlement with GCR Tire Centers regarding the termination of an off-road tire technician who had complained about unsafe work practices at the Notasulga Quarry in Lee County, Ala.

The agreement resolves a formal discrimination complaint that MSHA filed in court on behalf of the employee, after the agency's investigation determined that the company fired the employee in retaliation for reporting safety concerns.

GRENADA, Miss. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Grenada Stamping and Assembly Inc., doing business as Ice Industries Grenada, for 26 safety violations carrying proposed fines of $113,400. In April, OSHA officials opened an inspection at the facility under the agency's national emphasis program on amputations after learning of a work-related amputation.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Corpus Christi Grain Co. in Corpus Christi for six willful and 20 serious violations with total proposed penalties of $258,900. OSHA's Corpus Christi Area Office initiated its inspection at the company's facility on Talbert Lane after it was reported that a worker was engulfed while emptying grain from a storage bin. The employee was rescued due to the exceptional efforts of the Corpus Christi Fire Department.

Date of Action:  Sept. 30, 2011

Type of Action:  Consent judgment and order

Name(s) of Defendant: Otorhinolaryngology Associates, P.C., Otorhinolaryngology Associates, P.C. Profit Sharing Plan, and Dr. Rickey Gene Love

Partners include Facebook, the National Association of Colleges and Employers, DirectEmployers Association and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending October 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 403,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 409,000. The 4-week moving average was 403,000, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's revised average of 409,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent for the week ending October 8, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.9 percent.

SAGINAW, Texas – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Minneapolis-based Horizon Milling LLC for 17 serious violations for exposing workers to multiple safety hazards at the company's facility in Saginaw. Proposed penalties total $57,000.

"Employers are responsible for protecting workers from injuries and illnesses," said Jack Rector, OSHA's area director in Fort Worth. "It is very fortunate that no one was hurt at this facility."

BROOKSHIRE, Texas – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited M-Power Chemicals LC in Brookshire for 14 serious and two other-than-serious violations, including exposing employees to respiratory and combustible dust hazards. Proposed penalties total $54,600.

"This company jeopardized the safety and health of its workers by exposing them to respiratory and combustible dust hazards," said David Doucet, director of OSHA's Houston North Area Office. "Long-term exposure to dust can lead to disabling illnesses."

746 applicants in Amarillo and Hereford, Texas, affected

MINDEN, Neb. – he U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited America's Fiberglass Animals for eight repeat and seven serious violations of safety and health standards found during an inspection at the company's manufacturing facility in Minden, which was conducted as a follow-up after the company moved operations from Hastings. Two failure-to-abate notices also were issued because the company had not corrected employee respiratory hazards cited at the Hastings location. Proposed fines total $169,260.

Miners, mine operators urged to "knock out" winter hazards

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration has launched its annual "Winter Alert" campaign to call attention to the dangers caused by cold weather. Statistics show that coal-mine explosions occur most often during the colder months, October through March.