HEMINGFORD, NE ‒ Federal investigators found life-threatening hazards at a Nebraska grain cooperative, where workers faced risks of fire and explosions due to the company allowing a buildup of combustible dust and failing to maintain effective dust collection systems, leading to more than $500,000 in proposed penalties. 

In the week ending September 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 225,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 218,000 to 219,000. The 4-week moving average was 224,250, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 224,750 to 225,000.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $6 million in funding to help recruit, train and retain more women in quality pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship programs, as well as in nontraditional occupations. 

The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grants will enable organizations in eight states and the District of Columbia to provide training programs in skilled building trades, advanced manufacturing and information technology. 

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched a regional emphasis program to address worker safety in the highly hazardous grain handling industry as preventable injuries and unchecked hazards continue to be a serious concern for workers in the region. The program in Missouri is identical to programs already in place in Kansas and Nebraska.

ENDERLIN, ND – A federal whistleblower investigation has found a North Dakota railroad company illegally retaliated against and terminated a claims representative who reported an injury, discussed safety concerns with their supervisor and filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $1 million in grants to seven organizations in five states to support education and training initiatives that will help identify and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around the nation’s mines.

WAUKEGAN, IL – Chemical products manufacturer AB Specialty Silicones LLC will pay $1.3 million in penalties after an explosion and fire at its Waukegan plant in May 2019 claimed the lives of four workers. 

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has completed changes to restructure its regional operations and created a new region to better protect workers and educate employers as businesses expand and workforces grow in communities in several southeastern states.

Among the changes is the creation of a new region based in Birmingham to serve Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and the Florida Panhandle.

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement on negotiations between USMX and the International Longshoremen’s Association:

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has completed changes to restructure its regional operations and created a new region to better protect workers and educate employers as businesses expand and workforces grow in communities in several southeastern states.

Among the changes is the creation of a new region based in Birmingham to serve Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and the Florida Panhandle.

SAN FRANCISCO –  The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has completed changes to restructure its regional operations and created a region to better protect workers and educate employers as businesses expand and workforces grow in communities in several southeastern states.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of up to $20 million in grants for national out-of-school time organizations to expand local work-based learning opportunities, job training and career pathways for underserved youth after school and during the summer.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development have launched a joint strategic enforcement initiative to combat violations of federal and state child labor laws.

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa – Workers on American Samoa employed in industries covered by the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 will receive a 40-cent increase in their hourly wage beginning Sept. 30.

Employer:                                          

Hopewell Operator LLC, operating as Wonder City Rehabilitation and Nursing Center

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $154,009 in back wages and liquidated damages from an international plastics manufacturer that willfully failed to include bonus payments when calculating overtime for 743 workers.

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a permanent injunction and court order forbidding a California transportation company from retaliating against drivers and illegally shifting liability for labor law violations onto workers who exercised their federally protected rights.

WASHINGTON – As the nation marks National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of a new tool that provides access to more than 700 accommodation ideas for workers with disabilities and their employers.

ROSEDALE, LA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order assessing the operator of a Rosedale farm $12,000 in civil money penalties and preventing the Louisiana employers from applying for H-2A certification to bring foreign workers to the U.S. to fill temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs for one year, after investigators found the farm’s operator intimidated and threatened workers in violation of the law. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections at 14 mines in 10 states in August 2024, issuing 253 violations.

The agency began conducting impact inspections after an April 2010 explosion in West Virginia at the Upper Big Branch Mine killed 29 miners.