WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today awarded more than $6.8 million in Susan Harwood Training Grants to 30 recipients, encompassing labor unions, employer associations, colleges and universities, and other nonprofit organizations. The training grants cover a two-year period.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Sept. 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 545,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 557,000. The 4-week moving average was 563,000, a decrease of 8,750 from the previous week's revised average of 571,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.7 percent for the week ending Sept. 5, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.6 percent.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $323,565 grant to assist workers affected by layoffs at NewPage Corp.'s Rumford Paper Mill in Rumford, Maine.

"Today's grant will provide employment-related services that are crucial to finding new jobs in burgeoning areas of the economy," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "These workers deserve our support as they seek to upgrade existing skills, or prepare for new careers in promising regional industries."

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that approximately 4,700 workers from companies in 13 states – Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin – are eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA).

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has awarded cooperative agreements to The Workplace Inc. in Bridgeport, Conn., and the SkillSource Group Inc. in Vienna, Va., to lead consortia to develop innovative models of providing inclusive registered apprenticeship training to youth and young adults with disabilities.

Boston – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the former chief executive officer of defunct F & F Industries Inc., formerly of Centerbrook, Connecticut, for alleged misuse of approximately $63,800 of assets of the company’s 401(k) plan and for failure to collect more than $81,000 in employer contributions for employees who worked on jobs covered by the Connecticut state prevailing wage laws.

Appalachian region is recipient of 3 of 6 grants

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Floyd Seibert for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the complaint alleges that the defendant violated his fiduciary responsibilities when he failed to discharge his duties with respect to the Central Home Care Services 401(k) pension plan by engaging in prohibited transactions.

Washington – The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (known as the ERISA Advisory Council) will convene by teleconference September 29 to discuss reports and recommendations on topics to be submitted to the secretary of labor.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Sept. 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 550,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 576,000. The 4-week moving average was 570,000, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 572,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.6 percent for the week ending Aug. 29, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.7 percent.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding Sen. Tom Harkin as chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee:

"I am delighted to congratulate Sen. Tom Harkin on his new role as chairman of the HELP Committee.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today certified for release $11,058,877 in unemployment insurance (UI) modernization incentive funds to the state of West Virginia. West Virginia qualified for a portion of its share of the funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) by allowing workers to use their more recent earnings to qualify for benefits.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today released three reports on child labor and forced labor around the world. The reports, which can be downloaded at http://www.dol.gov/ilab include a list of 122 goods — from 58 countries — made using child labor and forced labor.

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement:

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) today released three reports on child labor and/or forced labor in countries around the globe. The documents include the initial "List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor" required by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (TVPRA List).

Twinsburg, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the former president and fiduciary to the 401(k) retirement plan of Precision Funding Corp., a mortgage broker, for improperly using plan assets withheld from employees’ pay for the benefit of the company, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today certified for release $42,489,921 in unemployment insurance (UI) modernization incentive funds to the state of Colorado. Colorado qualified for a portion of its share of the funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) by allowing workers to use their more recent earnings to qualify for benefits.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today published in the Federal Register a final rule revising the personal protective equipment (PPE) sections of its general industry, shipyard employment, longshoring and marine terminals standards concerning requirements for eye- and face-protective devices, and head and foot protection.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1,096,423 grant to assist approximately 178 workers affected by layoffs at Alcoa North American Rolled Products in Bettendorf, Iowa, and John Deere Davenport Works in Davenport, Iowa.

"Iowa workers affected by these layoffs need and deserve support," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "The grant announced today will provide retraining, job search assistance and other services to help them prepare for career track positions in promising regional industries."

Washington - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today released Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2009-03 that describes the circumstances under which a participant-directed individual account plan may satisfy the prospectus delivery requirements of section 404(c) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by furnishing a “Summary Prospectus” pursuant to requirements established by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

New York - The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York seeking the appointment of an independent fiduciary to oversee the abandoned 401(k) plan of defunct Digitel Solutions for Business Inc. or Empire Telecom Systems Corp., formerly located in Buffalo, New York .