DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Calypso Waterjet Systems Inc. of Dallas and its officers for allegedly failing to forward employee contributions and loan repayments to the company’s 401(k) plan and for misusing plan assets for the benefit of the company in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

NEW YORK - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued an officer of defunct Finnegan's Moving & Warehouse of Newburgh, N.Y., for failing to forward delinquent employee and employer contributions to the company's savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account, or SIMPLE IRA plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

MIAMI - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Windjammer Barefoot Cruises Ltd. and its fiduciaries to restore $24,655.77 to the company's 401(k) retirement plan for the benefit of plan participants and beneficiaries. Windjammer Barefoot Cruises provided leisure cruises until 2007 and was based in Miami Beach, Fla.

The lawsuit follows an investigation by the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration into alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. - The U.S. Department of Labor is suing defunct homebuilder Corinthian Custom Homes Inc. and its fiduciaries to restore losses suffered by participants and beneficiaries of the company's 401(k) retirement plan.

FRANKLIN, Ky. – The U.S. Department of Labor is suing Truck It Inc. of Franklin and company owner Steven Ligon to restore employee contributions and lost opportunity costs to participants in the company’s 401(k) retirement plan.

DETROIT — High schools and junior high schools in Michigan will receive valuable information this week from the U.S. Department of Labor about state and federal work rules designed to keep teens safe at work and productive at school.

Office of Personnel Management and other federal agencies discuss steps taken toward hiring reforms, simplified application process for job candidates

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration Phyllis C. Borzi will hold a conference call with members of the media on Nov. 16, to discuss a nationwide enforcement initiative to protect the retirement and health benefits of workers. The employee contributions initiative protects contributions deducted from workers’ paychecks by ensuring that the funds are deposited into their plans in order to pay future benefits.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Nov. 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 435,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 459,000. The 4-week moving average was 446,500, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised average of 456,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.4 percent for the week ending Oct. 30, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate of 3.5 percent.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today launched an online system for filing Trade Adjustment Assistance petitions. The department expects that the online tool will become the primary means by which TAA petitions are received, but the options to mail or fax a hard copy version of the petition remain available.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that it will hold six public hearings on the proposed rule "Lowering Miners' Exposure to Respirable Coal Mine Dust, Including Continuous Personal Dust Monitors." The notice will be available in the Federal Register on Nov. 15. The proposed rule was published Oct.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a $1,160,391 National Emergency Grant award to assist clean-up and recovery efforts following three days of severe storms and flooding that struck Minnesota this past September.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics today announced that the number of reported nonfatal occupational injury and illness cases that required days away from work to recuperate decreased by nine percent to 1,238,490 cases in 2009 for private industry, state government and local government. Additionally, BLS reported that the total incidence rate decreased by 5 percent to 117 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.

WASHINGTON — Deputy Undersecretary of Labor Sandra Polaski today issued the following statement clarifying the U.S. Department of Labor's position on the use of child labor and forced labor in carpet production in India:

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U. S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced that Kim Ghi Martin was sentenced to three months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $56,957.18 in restitution.

Grants to improve analysis of workforce program impacts

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $12.2 million to 13 states through the Workforce Data Quality Initiative. These funds will enable states to build or expand longitudinal databases of workforce data that also link to education data. States will use these longitudinal databases to conduct research and analysis aimed at pinpointing the effectiveness of employment and training programs to better inform workforce system customers.

EUGENE, Ore. – C&K Market Inc. of Brookings, Ore., has agreed to restore $3 million in cash plus interest and to sell property owned by the C&K Market Inc. 401(k) plan, among other steps, in order to make restitution for a series of imprudent loans made with plan assets in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. C&K Market operates approximately 50 supermarkets in southern Oregon and northern California.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the October 2010 Employment Situation report released today:

"This past October, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 151,000 jobs, with 159,000 jobs added in the private sector. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.6 percent.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Oct. 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 457,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 437,000. The 4-week moving average was 456,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised average of 454,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.4 percent for the week ending Oct. 23, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.5 percent.

WASHINGTON – The U. S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will hold a public hearing Dec. 7, 2010, on issues relating to disclosure of fees, conflicts of interest and other information by service providers to health, disability, severance and other employee welfare benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to fiduciaries of such plans.