Warehouse service provider to the HEB grocery chain to pay 63 workers

SAN ANTONIO — Costa Solutions LLC, a warehouse service provider to the HEB grocery chain, has agreed to pay $146,459 in overtime back wages to 63 current and former employees after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

BRADLEY, Ill. — Employees at a construction site in Bradley were expected to work on a low-sloped roof, 13 feet above the ground without the recommended means of fall protection. Champion Roofing Inc. has been cited for two willful safety violations for exposing workers to these fall hazards by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA has proposed $48,400 penalties for the violations. The Bensenville, Illinois-based company has been cited by OSHA five times in the past five years for exposing workers to fall hazards.

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.

GLENVIEW, Ill. — Two employees of DiMeo Brothers Inc. were observed on April 14 working in a 25 foot-deep trench without adequate cave-in protection while installing storm sewers for the Village of Glenview. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the sewer and water contractor for one willful and two serious safety violations carrying proposed penalties of $44,660.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Kelly Bailey, owner of SCK Management Services Inc., doing business as PROS Rehabilitation, in an effort to recover approximately $136,484 in missing employee retirement contributions and approximately $24,464 in losses from appreciation accruing on those missing funds. The department's lawsuit, filed in U.S.

PRITCHARD, Ala. — An inspection initiated in June 2014 by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that workers at PJ Lumber Co. were exposed to falls, amputations and other hazards. The company, which manufactures finished lumber products for resale, has been cited for 13 serious safety and health violations found at the company's lumber mill on Stephens Road in Pritchard. Proposed penalties total $50,085.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Employees of The Preservation Society of Newport County were exposed to lead and potentially fatal falls while scraping and abrasively removing lead-based paint from an outbuilding at the Newport mansion known as Chateau-sur-Mer, reports the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

HICKSVILLE, Ohio — FWT LLC has been cited for one repeat and one serious safety violation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration after two employees were injured in separate incidents at the company's Hicksville facility, which manufactures telecommunication towers. OSHA has proposed penalties of $45,500 for exposing the workers to amputation hazards.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Two employees were injured following an explosion at Indianhead Explorations LLC, doing business as Indianhead Biomass Services, permanently disabling one employee and causing the other to suffer a leg injury. Following the March 2014 incident, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the employer with two willful and seven serious safety violations.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today that it has allocated $8,348,423 in health and safety training grants for 46 states and the Navajo Nation in fiscal year 2014.

Date of Action: July 29, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Judgment and Order

Names of Defendants: Nickson’s Machine Shop Inc.; Dennis W. Leal; Nickson’s Machine Shop 401(k) Savings Plan

CONCORD, N.H. — The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a preliminary injunction against Nashua painting contractor Kevin Corriveau Painting Inc., and its officers and agents, to prevent them from intimidating, retaliating or discriminating against current or former employees involved in a federal investigation and lawsuit.

SEATTLE — A contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford nuclear facility in Washington state has been ordered to reinstate an environmental specialist and pay more than $220,000 in back wages and other expenses after it fired the employee for voicing nuclear and environmental safety concerns, a violation of federal whistleblower provisions.

AUBURN, Ala. — Based in Auburn, Gonzalez Stucco & Stone LLC has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for four repeat and one serious safety violation following an inspection at a residential construction site at 283 Bentley Court. The agency initiated the June 2014 inspection as part of its National Emphasis Program on Falls. Proposed penalties total $54,120.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today published a request for information on the use of brokerage windows, self-directed brokerage accounts and similar features in 401(k)-type plans. The RFI will appear in the Aug. 21 edition of the Federal Register and can also be viewed at https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-19832.

Date of Action: July 8, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Order and Judgment

Name of Defendant: Peter Connor, Gordon Connor, WD Flooring LLC, Nicolet Hardwoods Corporation and the Connor Companies Health and Welfare Benefit Plan

Allegations: On April 29, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor filed suit against Peter Connor, Gordon Connor, WD Flooring LLC, Nicolet Hardwoods Corporation and Connor Companies Health and Welfare Benefit Plan, a self-funded health plan, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Date of Action: Aug. 4, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Order and Judgment

Names of Defendants: John W. Hufgard, Universal Custom Process Inc. 401(k) Retirement Plan 

Date of Action: Aug. 18, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: Janet Finken, I.Q. Marketing, Inc., I.Q. Marketing Inc. 401(k) Plan

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration found that Janet Finken and I.Q. Marketing, Inc., fiduciaries of the I.Q. Marketing Inc. 401(k) Plan failed to administer the plan since Jan. 17, 2014.  The company ceased operations in August 2012 and involuntarily dissolved by the State of Minnesota on Aug. 1, 2012.

MOLINE, Ill. — McLaughlin Body Co. has been cited for exposing workers to amputation hazards at the company's two plants in Rock Island and East Moline. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the inspections in March 2014 after receiving complaints alleging unsafe working conditions at both plants. The inspection found nine serious violations carrying proposed penalties of $43,000.

HICKORY, N.C. — The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into a settlement agreement with Gaines Motor Lines Inc., as well as individuals Tim Gaines and Rick Tompkins, to resolve findings made by the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration alleging that four former truck drivers were terminated for participating in an inspection audit, in violation of the whistleblower protection provision of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act.