WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao has called upon nonprofit organizations, small businesses, corporations and individuals that have demonstrated exemplary and innovative efforts in advancing the employment and workplace environment of people with disabilities to submit entries for the 2008 Secretary of Labors New Freedom Initiative Award.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Fort Wright, Kentucky – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky to remove Woodford Memorial Hospital Inc. as the fiduciary of the hospital’s retirement and thrift plan.

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Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia requiring Marc Meixner to restore $509,624 to the Georgia Plumbers Trade Association Health Plan.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Minneapolis – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the owner of Duke’s Body Shop in Crystal, Minnesota, for allegedly retaining employee contributions owed to the company’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account (SIMPLE IRA) to pay the operating expenses of the company. Duke’s Body Shop is a commercial auto body repair shop.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Columbus, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached agreement with John P. Verhoff and Aaron K. Gaynor, officers of Precise Mechanicals Inc., Columbus, to restore employee contributions to the company-sponsored 401(k) plan.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

San Antonio – A free health law compliance assistance seminar for employers, plan fiduciaries and plan services providers, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Texas Department of Insurance, will take place February 27 and 28 at the AmeriSuites Riverwalk located at 601 S. St. Mary’s in San Antonio.

OLMS also obtained eight indictments and more than $202,000 in court orders of restitution

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — The U.S. Department of Labor today launched a new $4 million project to support public-private partnerships in the Dominican Republic aimed at preventing hazardous child labor.

"This project will make the dream of schooling a reality for thousands of children in need and help break the cycle of poverty," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "As a direct result of U.S. Department of Labor initiatives, more than one million children worldwide have been rescued from exploitive child labor."

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Troy, Michigan – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Fifth Third Bank, an Ohio corporation and advisor to the Operating Engineers Local 324 Pension Fund in Troy, Michigan, to recover plan losses suffered when the defendants mismanaged the sale of property owned by the fund.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Dublin, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued executives of American Systems Consulting Inc. in Dublin for improperly using 401(k) assets for the benefit of the company in violation of the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Boston – Richard E. Landry Sr., owner and operator of Landry Architects of Salem, New Hampshire, has agreed to repay $100,000 to the company’s profit-sharing plan under a consent judgment resolving a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor over alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that Alexander J. Passantino will serve as the acting administrator of the department's Wage and Hour Division. Passantino was named deputy administrator for the division in October 2006. He first joined the U.S. Department of Labor in November 2005 as a senior policy advisor to the assistant secretary for the Employment Standards Administration.

Traveling Resource Center to make stops in Arizona and New Mexico

Agency collects more than $1.25 billion for workers since 2000

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs sets record for third consecutive year

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) today announced its criminal enforcement data for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, highlighting increases over previous years. Court-ordered restitution of union funds has risen in each year since FY 2001, with only one exception. In FY 2001, the amount was just under $2 million and in FY 2007, the amount was over $32 million. Criminal case processing is up 10 percent over FY 2001 (406 from 370), while convictions are up 16 percent (118 from 102).

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Office of Labor-Management Standards has obtained more than 800 convictions this decade

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) today announced its criminal enforcement data for November 2007. During the month, OLMS obtained nine convictions and court orders of restitution totaling $488,670. The bulk of the cases involved the embezzlement of union funds.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.