WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a $4,442,207 National Emergency Grant supplemental award to assist approximately 1,630 workers affected by layoffs at businesses at the Wilmington Air Park in Wilmington, Ohio.

"Today's grant will provide additional re-training and re-employment services to Ohioans who are still being adversely affected by the air park's closure," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding the increased enforcement and outreach efforts of the department’s Wage and Hour Division:

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced the publication of a notice withdrawing the final rule on the provision of investment advice under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's prohibited transaction provisions. The regulatory action is expected to be published in the Nov. 20 edition of the Federal Register.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced nearly $55 million in green jobs grants, as authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The grants will support job training and labor market information programs to help workers, many in underserved communities, find jobs in expanding green industries and related occupations.

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has prepared a fact sheet providing crowd control guidelines for retailers to protect workers during major sales events.

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will hold two stakeholder meetings on Dec. 14 to discuss combustible dust workplace hazards.

The meetings will be held at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. EST at the Marriott at Metro Center located at 775 12th St. NW in Washington, D.C.

OSHA will use comments from these meetings and responses to an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in developing a comprehensive standard addressing fire and explosion hazards of combustible dust.

CHICAGO — The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a legal action with its Office of Administrative Law Judges against Total Enterprise Inc. and company President, Kyong M. Kim and Vice President, Frederick S. Kahl for alleged violations of the prevailing wage and fringe benefits provisions of the Service Contract Act (SCA).

"Government contractors need to know that agreements made on behalf of working Americans must be honored or the Labor Department will take appropriate legal action," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised its acetylene standard. A final rule replaces references to outdated industry standards with updated references reflecting current industry practices.

OSHA finds problems identified in report alarming

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) welcomes the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) report on the under-reporting of workplace injuries and illnesses and OSHA's audit process.

The report identifies a number of factors that may contribute to the inaccuracy of employer injury and illness records, as well as problems with the audits that OSHA conducts to ensure their accuracy.

ATLANTA The U.S. Department of Labor s Women s Bureau and the U.S. Small Business Administration will co-sponsor a workshop, Green Resources and Opportunities for Women (G.R.O.W.), on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 8:30 a.m. to12:30 p.m. EST at Morehouse College Executive Leadership Conference Center, Bank of America Auditorium in Atlanta.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced publication of a notice further extending the applicability and effective dates of the final rule on investment advice under the Pension Protection Act to May 17, 2010. The notice is expected to be published in the November 17 edition of the Federal Register.

ALBANY, N.Y. – Cranesville Aggregate Co., doing business as Scotia Bag Plant, Scotia, N.Y., faces a total of $509,000 in proposed fines from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The plant, which bags cement and asphalt, has been cited for 33 alleged willful, repeat and serious violations of workplace safety and health standards following comprehensive OSHA inspections over the past six months.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that approximately 3,400 workers from companies in eight states – Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Wisconsin – are eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA).

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Loren Cook Co. of Springfield with seven alleged willful and three alleged serious violations after a worker was killed by an ejected machine part on May 13.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Nov. 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 502,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 514,000. The 4-week moving average was 519,750, a decrease of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average of 524,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.3 percent for the week ending Oct. 31, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.4 percent.

CINCINNATI – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited bridge and water tower painter UCL Inc. in Cincinnati with alleged willful, egregious and serious violations of federal workplace safety and health standards for exposing workers to lead. Proposed fines total $321,000.

OSHA began its inspection in May where UCL was abrasive blasting paint from two bridge overpasses on I-75 near Middletown, Ohio. The inspection revealed nine alleged willful and two serious violations.

DENVER — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) today announced that DAL Global Services LLC in Denver has agreed to settle findings of hiring discrimination against 110 rejected Asian, black, white and female job applicants. The agreement resolves the department's allegations that the employer discriminated against applicants for the position of ramp agent at Denver International Airport.

GRANDVILLE, Mich. — Li Jin Yang and Dong Lin, a wife and husband operating five Oriental Forest restaurants, headquartered in Grandville with locations across the western part of Michigan, have been ordered by a federal court judge to pay $2,030,430 in minimum wage and overtime pay and damages owed to 129 workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

Marietta – The Superior Court of Cobb County Georgia in Marietta has sentenced the owner of the Hoyla Insurance Group to serve five years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of probation, after his plea of guilty to 19 counts of theft, including theft of $65,000 from the company's 401(k) plan.

WASHINGTON – Deputy Secretary of Labor Seth Harris today testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Children and Families regarding workplace flexibility and paid leave in the context of the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic. Harris expressed the administration's strong support for the Healthy Families Act as a way to provide workplace flexibilities and increased economic security.