Public invited to comment during early stage of development

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding the decision to request an arbitral panel in a dispute over labor rights enforcement by Guatemala:

"I applaud U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk's decision today to request the establishment of an arbitral panel under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement in a dispute regarding the government of Guatemala's failure to effectively enforce its labor laws.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $670,000 National Emergency Grant to provide re-employment services to approximately 145 former workers of FTCA Inc. who were affected by layoffs at the company's plant in Somerset, Pa. FTCA closed the travel trailer and recreational camper manufacturing facility in January.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the July 2011 Employment Situation report released today:

"Our nation's labor market continued to add jobs in the month of July. The private sector added 154,000 jobs, and total non-farm payrolls rose by 117,000, with a loss of 37,000 government jobs. The unemployment rate ticked down to 9.1 percent.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced 23 grants totaling $5,436,148 to provide homeless veterans with job training aimed at helping them succeed in civilian careers. The grants are being awarded by the department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service through the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending July 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 400,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 401,000. The 4-week moving average was 407,750, a decrease of 6,750 from the previous week's revised average of 414,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.0 percent for the week ending July 23, unchanged from the prior week's revised rate of 3.0 percent.

WASHINGTON — Today at the National Disability Forum in Washington, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced the availability of approximately $1.6 million in funding for the Add Us In initiative, which will fund up to three cooperative agreements with allotments ranging from $500,000 to $550,000 each.

Agreement includes back pay and job opportunities for 39 minority and women applicants plus training for managers and human resources personnel

LINCOLNTON , N.C. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Lincolnton-based Belding Hausman Inc. and President Curtis Wilford Stowe to restore $144,459 in employee contributions, employee loan repayments and lost earnings to the defunct company’s deferred compensation plan. The lawsuit follows an investigation by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration that found the defendants violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $3 million National Emergency Grant to create 230 temporary jobs to assist with cleanup and recovery efforts in the aftermath of severe flooding along the Mississippi River in May and June.

"Floods dealt a severe blow this spring to many communities in Mississippi," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "I am pleased that the Labor Department can support cleanup efforts that will help lead to a sustained recovery for Mississippi's impacted communities."

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $3.75 million National Emergency Grant to provide training and support services to approximately 375 workers affected by the closure of Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital in Rome, Ga. The facility, a state-run mental health hospital for developmentally disabled and mentally ill patients, will be closing on Sept. 30.

WASHINGTON – In a continuing effort to improve the Whistleblower Protection Program, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that it is implementing additional measures to strengthen the program and is releasing an internal report detailing a recent top-to-bottom review of the program.

WASHINGTON — On July 31, the U.S. Department of Labor marked the 10th anniversary of administering the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to eligible workers and their survivors who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. The department has administered Part B of the EEOICPA since the program's inception in 2001, and was charged with the implementation of Part E, created by an amendment to the EEOICPA, on Oct. 28, 2004.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has extended the public comment period for a proposed rule to revise the interpretation of "advice" as it pertains to the employer and labor relations consultant persuader reporting requirements of Section 203 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. All public comments now must be received on or before Sept. 21.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding the death of Richard Chavez:

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending July 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 398,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 422,000. The 4-week moving average was 413,750, a decrease of 8,500 from the previous week's revised average of 422,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent for the week ending July 16, a 0.1 percentage point decrease from the prior week's revised rate of 3.0 percent.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the Bureau of Labor Statistics report released today on Employee Benefits in the United States, a component of the annual National Compensation Survey:

Violations affected workers in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, North Dakota and Texas

Special Factor: Minnesota has indicated that approximately 1,750 of their reported initial claims are a result of state employees filing due to the state government shutdown.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending July 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 418,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 408,000. The 4-week moving average was 421,250, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 424,000.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration is soliciting nominations to fill five three-year vacancies on the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, known as the ERISA Advisory Council. The deadline to submit nominations is Sept. 16.