Company will pay $275,000 in back wages and interest to 195 female and black applicants

NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced today that Central Parking System of Louisiana Inc. has agreed to pay $275,000 in back wages and interest to settle allegations of placement and hiring discrimination affecting 104 women and 91 African Americans who were rejected as valets at the company's New Orleans location.

SOUTH BELOIT, Ill. — Following the death of a worker at Behr Iron & Steel Inc.'s recycling facility in South Beloit, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the company for seven willful and one serious safety violations. The company operates under the name Behr Iron & Metal.

Nearly 1,300 women to share $475K in back wages and interest

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $10 million competitive solicitation for multiple cooperative agreements for impact evaluations of programs that take place outside the United States to help increase the collective knowledge base about successful approaches to combatting child labor and forced labor.

Date of Action: Sept. 2, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Order and Judgment

Names of Defendant: Dr. Anthony Alexander, Home Comp. Care Inc. Savings & Retirement Plan

CHICAGO — B & T Underground Inc., based in North Riverside, exposed workers to cave-in hazards and has been cited for one willful, two serious and four repeat safety violations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA opened the inspection March 10, 2014, after observing employees working in an unprotected trench at a residential home under construction in Chicago. Proposed penalties total $76,340.

CONYERS, Ga. — Truss Components of Atlanta Inc. was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration with one failure-to-abate, five repeat and two serious safety and health violations, following an inspection in February at the company's facility on Old Covington Highway. OSHA initiated the inspection as a follow up to a previous inspection conducted in November 2013. Proposed penalties total $92,851.

OMAHA, Neb. — An alliance is being formed between the Heartland Workers Center of Omaha and the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to provide HWC staff, immigrant workers and others with education, guidance and access to training resources on protecting the health and safety of workers.

Date of Action: Aug. 29, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Name(s) of Defendant(s): World Health Alternatives Inc. and World Health Alternatives Health and Welfare Benefits 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:

Date of Action: September 2, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Order and Judgment, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Green Bay Division

Names of Defendant: Jane E. Lehman, Teletrans Services Inc., and Teletrans Services Inc. Savings and Retirement Plan

Date of Action: Aug. 29, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendant: Perez v. PBI Bank Inc., Michael A. Evans, and AIT Laboratories Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Allegations: The suit alleges that the Plan’s trustee, PBI Bank Inc. and the plan sponsor’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Michael A. Evans, authorized the purchase of company stock for $90 million, an amount far higher than the stock’s fair market value. 

MCCOOL JUNCTION, Neb. — Following the death of a 73-year-old worker who sustained fatal injuries from falling while loading a tanker truck, Farmers Cooperative has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for one repeat and two serious safety violations at its McCool Junction fertilizer plant. The incident occurred May 7, and the worker died from his injuries May 13. The full-time employee had worked for the company since February 2013.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — BNSF Railway Co. has been found in violation of the Federal Railroad Safety Act by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for disciplining an employee at its Murray Yard complex for following a physician's treatment plan. The company has been ordered to pay the conductor $12,000 in damages, remove disciplinary information from the employee's personnel record and provide whistleblower rights information to its employees.

DENVER — Commercial roofer Douglass Colony Group Inc. was cited for four repeat and seven serious violations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to protect workers from exposure to asbestos at a Denver work site. Proposed penalties total $81,000.

PATERSON, N.J. — Workers at Film Pak Extrusion LLC were exposed to amputation and other safety and health hazards according to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The company's Paterson manufacturing facility has been cited for one willful and 12 serious workplace violations related to the dangerous conditions.

HARTFORD, Conn. — Employees at Superior Plastics Extrusion Co. Inc., doing business as Impact Plastics, were exposed to two dozen safety and health hazards, including falls and mechanical hazards, according to federal inspectors. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed penalties totaling $66,789 for violations at the company's Putnam, Connecticut, manufacturing plant.

STIRLING, N.J. — Concrete and masonry company Concrete Systems Inc. has been cited for one repeat and seven serious safety hazards following a February investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA investigators opened the inspection after observing workers constructing formwork without fall protection at the construction site of three midrise buildings at 300 Glenwood Ave. in Bloomfield, New Jersey.

WASHINGTON — Each year, Labor Day gives us an opportunity to recognize the invaluable contributions that working men and women make to our nation, our economy and our collective prosperity. It gives us a chance to show gratitude for workers' grit, dedication, ingenuity and strength, which define our nation's character. At the Labor Department, it also provides an opportunity to reflect on how we can best serve and honor workers in return.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 190 citations and eight orders during special impact inspections conducted at 15 coal mines and three metal and nonmetal mines in July.

The monthly inspections, which began in force in April 2010 following the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine, involve mines that merit increased agency attention and enforcement due to their poor compliance history or particular compliance concerns.

NEW YORK – The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has appointed an independent fiduciary to administer an abandoned pension benefit plan, resolving a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor.