BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Artbeats Inc. for repeat and serious violations of workplace safety standards at its Cheshire facility. The company, which manufactures reproductions of prints and paintings, faces $56,430 in proposed fines following an inspection by OSHA's Bridgeport Area Office begun Dec. 3, 2013, in response to a worker complaint.

Grant applications are now being accepted for latest round of funding

Grant application period is open to compete for second round of this funding

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of approximately $30 million through the second round of the Training to Work — Adult Reentry competitive grant program to help men and women participating in a state or local prison work-release programs gain the job skills necessary to succeed in an in-demand occupation upon reintegrating back into society.

Date of Action: Feb. 12, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Name of Defendants: Animal Clinic of Alamo Inc., Deborah Knibb, John C. Baine III and Animal Clinic of Alamo Profit Sharing Plan

Employee Retirement Plan of Madison-based IDS Sales & Engineering Inc.

Date of Action: Feb. 12, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Madison

Names of Defendant: David Stratton, IDS Sales & Engineering Inc., IDS Sales & Engineering Inc. Retirement Savings Plan

Date of Action: Jan. 30, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendant: Timothy J. Clifford, Jr., Patrick D. Clifford, Clifford Replacement Windows & Siding, Inc., CRW Inc. 401(k) Plan in Mount Prospect, Ill.

ELMORE, Ala. — Amtech Southeast Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 15 safety and health violations, carrying $50,000 in proposed penalties. The agency initiated an inspection of the company's manufacturing facility in Elmore in September 2013 after receiving a complaint concerning workplace hazards.

SALEM, Ala. — Dudley Lumber Co. Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 26 safety and health violations following an August 2013 inspection at the company's facility in Salem. OSHA initiated the inspection as part of the agency's national emphasis program on amputations and noise. The proposed penalties total $106,650.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In August 2013, a 32-year-old machine helper entered a large wire mesh manufacturing machine to retrieve a fallen metal bar, and he was struck and killed by a part that feeds the wire into the machine's welding area. The light curtain that would have automatically turned the machine off before he entered the danger zone had been disabled. Proper operation of the machine's guards, a basic Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirement, would have saved his life.

ELMORE, Ala. — Amtech Southeast Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 15 safety and health violations, carrying $50,000 in proposed penalties. The agency initiated an inspection of the company's manufacturing facility in Elmore in September 2013 after receiving a complaint concerning workplace hazards.

SYRACUSE, NY — Serious workplace safety violations were found in connection with the September 2013 explosion at the Canastota Wastewater Treatment Plant that killed one worker and injured another. Joy Process Mechanical Inc. of East Syracuse and M. Hubbard Construction Inc. of Mottville were hired by the plant to replace piping inside a methane gas dome, a confined space.

Date of Action: Feb. 11, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Judgment and Order

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Gail Garrow, IAQ Inc., and IAQ Inc. 401(k) Plan

WASHINGTON — A maintenance worker fell to his death Jan. 31 from a cell tower in Cameron County, Texas. The next day, a cell phone tower collapsed in Clarksburg, W.Va. Minutes later a second tower at the same Clarksburg site also fell. The collapse of these two towers resulted in the deaths of two workers and a firefighter responding to the scene, and sent two other employees to the hospital with serious injuries.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez signed a consular partnership agreement yesterday with Nestor E. Mendez, Ambassador of Belize to the United States.

BRAINTREE, Mass. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Wakefield excavation and utilities contractor Joseph P. Cardillo & Son Inc. for willful and serious violations of excavation safety standards at a Milton work site. Cardillo faces $144,400 in proposed fines following an inspection by OSHA's Braintree Area Office begun on Aug. 6, 2013, in response to an anonymous complaint.

WASHINGTON — In an announcement today at A National Symposium: Veterans' Employment in Construction, hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor and Joining Forces, First Lady Michelle Obama and U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez celebrated a broad coalition of construction employers and associations that have collectively pledged to hire 100,000 veterans over the next five years.

CLEVELAND — Workers suspended without pay for reporting workplace injuries has prompted a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The department filed the lawsuit against The Ohio Bell Telephone Company, which operates as AT&T, on behalf of 13 employees who received unpaid suspensions after reporting work place injuries from 2011 to 2013.

Date of Action: Jan. 10, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Name of Defendants: Nickson’s Machine Shop Inc., Dennis W. Leal and Nickson’s Machine Shop 401(k) Savings Plan

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the January 2014 Employment Situation report released today:

Date of Action: Jan. 29, 2014

Type of Action: Order

Names of Defendant: Bruce E. Hartmann, Terry Hartmann, Mid States Express 401(k) Plan and Mid-States Express Inc. Employee Benefit Plan