ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U. S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced that Kim Ghi Martin was sentenced to three months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $56,957.18 in restitution.

Grants to improve analysis of workforce program impacts

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $12.2 million to 13 states through the Workforce Data Quality Initiative. These funds will enable states to build or expand longitudinal databases of workforce data that also link to education data. States will use these longitudinal databases to conduct research and analysis aimed at pinpointing the effectiveness of employment and training programs to better inform workforce system customers.

EUGENE, Ore. – C&K Market Inc. of Brookings, Ore., has agreed to restore $3 million in cash plus interest and to sell property owned by the C&K Market Inc. 401(k) plan, among other steps, in order to make restitution for a series of imprudent loans made with plan assets in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. C&K Market operates approximately 50 supermarkets in southern Oregon and northern California.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the October 2010 Employment Situation report released today:

"This past October, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 151,000 jobs, with 159,000 jobs added in the private sector. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.6 percent.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Oct. 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 457,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 437,000. The 4-week moving average was 456,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised average of 454,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.4 percent for the week ending Oct. 23, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.5 percent.

WASHINGTON – The U. S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will hold a public hearing Dec. 7, 2010, on issues relating to disclosure of fees, conflicts of interest and other information by service providers to health, disability, severance and other employee welfare benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to fiduciaries of such plans.

HUDSON, Wis. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Miller Homes of Hudson LLC and the company’s former vice president, Leo Draveling, seeking restitution of $21,716.10 in voluntary employee contributions plus loss interest to the company’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement accounts. The case resulted from an investigation by the department into alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

PORTLAND, Ore. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment ordering Skinner Bonding of Oregon Inc. and Mary Anne Skinner, the company’s former owner and president, to restore $177,807 to the company’s salary savings and profit-sharing plan.

ARLINGTON, Va. – In an unprecedented legal move, the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky a motion for preliminary injunction against Freedom Energy Mining Co.'s Mine No. 1. Located in Pike County, Ky., Freedom's Mine No. 1 is owned by Massey Energy Co.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is encouraging CEOs of 14 major retail companies to take precautions to prevent worker injuries during Black Friday and the holiday season's other major sales events. Toward that end, OSHA has sent a letter and fact sheet on "Crowd Management Safety Tips for Retailers" to the CEOs.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has certified for release $205,063,552 in unemployment insurance modernization incentive funds to the state of North Carolina. North Carolina qualified for its full share of the funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by providing for a variety of provisions that assist recent entrants to the workforce, part-time workers and workers who become unemployed because of compelling family reasons.

Miners, mine operators urged to take precautions during colder months

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration kicks off its 2010 Winter Alert campaign today to warn miners and mine operators about the dangers colder weather can bring to the mining environment. Historically, statistics show that most coal mine explosions occur during the colder months.

RHINELAND, Mo. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the owner of defunct Lensing Earthworks Inc. of Rhineland for allegedly paying operating expenses using employee contributions to the company’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement accounts.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The current and former trustees of several retirement, health and welfare plans of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 99 in Cranston, R.I., were ordered to repay $439,755.62 to the plans as restitution for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, according to a consent order and judgment obtained by the U.S. Department of Labor.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of a new online toolkit to guide employers through the process for hiring veterans. The free toolkit is designed to assist and educate employers who have made the proactive decision to include veterans and wounded warriors in their recruitment and hiring initiatives.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Oct. 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 434,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 455,000. The 4-week moving average was 453,250, a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week's revised average of 458,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending Oct. 16, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate of 3.6 percent.

DOVER, Del. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued David Owen, the former president of defunct Owen Printing Dover Inc., for failure to remit employee contributions to the company’s 401(k) plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration has approved national guidelines for apprenticeship standards for the occupation of direct support professional. These standards will enable employers to use ETA's Registered Apprenticeship program to train workers for careers in the long-term care sector of the health care industry.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued 54 workplace safety and health citations with penalties totaling $1.2 million to gun powder substitute manufacturer Black Mag LLC, following an investigation into the causes of a deadly explosion in May at the company's worksite in Colebrook, N.H. The explosion took the lives of two workers who had been on the job for only a month.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $3,390,568 grant to assist about 300 workers affected by fishing industry layoffs in the Lummi Nation, located near Bellingham, Wash.