January 22, 2015

OSHA News Release: OSHA finds Zimmer TMT workers lacked training and plan to respond when chlorine gas leaked at Parsippany, NJ plant [01/22/2015]

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — "Zimmer TMT is in the business of healthcare and should be aware of the potential health and safety hazards to which its employees could be exposed," said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA's Parsippany Area Office. "Chlorine gas is poisonous and can cause death. Employers using highly hazardous chemicals absolutely must be prepared for emergencies, and this company clearly was not."

January 22, 2015

OSHA News Release: OSHA cites Fastrack Erectors for lack of fall protection in worker fatality [01/22/2015]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 22-year-old apprentice ironworker fell more than 30 feet to his death while standing on a 9-inch-wide steel girder on a building under construction in Kansas City. On the job for just a few weeks, the worker was not provided fall protection by his employer, Fastrack Erectors Inc., a subcontractor on the construction job. After an investigation into the July 25, 2014, fatality, the U.S.

January 22, 2015

OSHA News Release: Blast turns fatal at fireworks storage in Pittsburg, Kansas [01/22/2015]

PITTSBURG, Kan. — Two Lone Star Management LLC employees were directed to use a gas-powered forklift to move pallets of fireworks and cardboard out of an explosives storage facility in Pittsburg when the gas ignited, which caused an explosion and fire. Within seconds, the trapped employees became engulfed in flames. The inferno took the life of one 28-year-old worker and left a 43-year-old co-worker to suffer with burns over 80 percent of his body and the possibility of never working again.

January 22, 2015

EBSA News Brief: US Labor Department sues Rochester, New York, investment advisor and plan administrator to recover losses suffered as result of fiduciary breaches [01/22/2015]

Date of Action: January 8, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint and Consent Judgment and Order

Names of Defendants: Richard Curtis Herring.

January 22, 2015

OFCCP News Release: Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory settles race and sex discrimination case with US Labor Department [01/22/2015]

BALTIMORE — The Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University will pay $359,253 to settle allegations of discrimination made by two African American women who were employed at its Laurel, Md. facility. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs determined that the lab violated Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment on the basis of race or sex.

January 22, 2015

ILAB News Release: Bureau of International Labor Affairs invests $11M to strengthen oversight and effectiveness of programs to combat child labor and forced labor [01/22/2015]

WASHINGTON — With an estimated 215 million children engaged in child labor and nearly 21 million victims of forced labor worldwide, it's critical that investments in projects to improve their lives employ the most effective and efficient interventions. Strong project monitoring and rigorous evaluations are necessary to determine which of many possible approaches will most effectively secure and protect the rights of these children and adults. The U.S.

January 21, 2015

MSHA News Brief: MSHA announces results of December impact inspections [01/21/2015]

Participant: Mine Safety and Health Administration

Description: The Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 117 citations and four orders during special impact inspections conducted at 10 coal mines and two metal and nonmetal mines in December.

January 21, 2015

MSHA News Brief: MSHA announces results of December impact inspections [01/21/2015]

Participant: Mine Safety and Health Administration

Description: The Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 117 citations and four orders during special impact inspections conducted at 10 coal mines and two metal and nonmetal mines in December.

January 16, 2015

US Labor Department sues steel fabrication company in Chico, California, to restore more than $30,000 to 401(k) Plan

Date of Action: January 14, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: Butte Steel & Fabrication Inc.; Jeffrey Brochheuser; and the Butte Steel & Fabrication Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan

January 15, 2015

Perez v. Wallis et al., involving the USA Baby Inc. 401(k) Plan and U.S.A. Baby Inc. Health Plan in Lombard, Ill.

Date of Action: Jan. 15, 2015

Type of Action: Order

Names of Defendant: Scott Wallis, Ronald Eriksen, U.S.A. Baby Inc., U.S.A. Baby Inc. 401(k) Plan, U.S.A. Baby Inc. Health Plan. Wallis was an owner and president of U.S.A. Baby Inc. and Eriksen was a majority owner and chief executive officer of the defunct company, which was located in Lombard, Illinois.

January 15, 2015

US Labor Department sues Douglasville, Pennsylvania, dentist to restore employee contributions to retirement plan

Date of Action: Jan. 14, 2015

Name(s) of Defendant: Lisa A. Ferrari, DMD; Clifton Casey; Lisa A. Ferrari, DMD, LLC; and Lisa A. Ferrari, DMD, LLC Retirement Plan

Allegations: Based on an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Secretary of Labor filed a complaint alleging the following:

January 15, 2015

WHD News Brief: El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant owners agree to pay $90K in back wages, penalties and damages after Labor Department investigation [01/15/2015]

Employer name: JAO Enterprises LLC, doing business as El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant

Investigation site: 2091 North Bend Road, Suite 150, Hebron, Kentucky

Date and what prompted investigation: The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division's Louisville District Office initiated an investigation in August 2013 as a follow-up to a separate investigation at an affiliated restaurant.

January 15, 2015

OSHA News Release: Litchfield County, Connecticut, manufacturer exposes employees to dangerous respiratory, chemical and other safety hazards [01/15/2015]

US Chutes Corp. faces $94,248 in fines for repeated and serious violations

HARTFORD, Conn. — U.S. Chutes Corp. exposed employees to chemical, mechanical, electrical and respiratory hazards during the manufacturing process at its Bantam plant, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found. A manufacturer of galvanized chutes for laundry and trash conveyors, the company faces $94,248 in fines.

January 15, 2015

OSHA News Release: Northern Excavating Co. exposes workers to trench cave-ins for 8th time [01/15/2015]

ROSS, N.D. —For the eighth time, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Northern Excavating Co. for allowing its employees to work at great risk in trenches without cave-in protection and a safe means to exit the trench.

January 15, 2015

OSHA News Release: MCM Precision Castings exposes workers to dangerous noise levels, silica dust at foundry [01/15/2015]

WESTON, Ohio — While operating an industrial machine, a worker at MCM Precision Castings Inc. was exposed to noise levels that averaged 97 decibels, equal to the noise of a jackhammer, over his eight-hour shift. MCM Precision Castings Inc. employees were also exposed to dangerously high noise levels and crystalline silica dust, a cause of chronic lung disease, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

January 15, 2015

EBSA News Brief: US Labor Department sues Rochester, New York, investment advisor and plan administrator to recover losses suffered as result of fiduciary breaches [01/15/2015]

Date of Action: Dec. 29, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendant: Roger Ramsay and Compensation Planning Corp. of Rochester Inc.