May 25, 2023

US Department of Labor finds Whataburger restaurant illegally denied nursing mother time to express breast milk, then fired her

Employer name:                    Whataburger Restaurant LLC                                        

Investigation site:                 7201 Quaker Ave.

May 25, 2023

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending May 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 229,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 17,000 from 242,000 to 225,000. The 4-week moving average was 231,750, unchanged from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 12,500 from 244,250 to 231,750.

May 25, 2023

US Department of Labor investigation finds Columbus children’s hospital exposed nurses, other employees to workplace violence

COLUMBUS, OH ‒ A Columbus children’s hospital failed to protect employees — including nurses and mental health professionals — from patients whose bites, kicks, punches and other assaults caused serious injuries, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

May 24, 2023

READOUT: White House Mental Health at Work roundtable underscored removing stigma, strengthening supports, sharing best practices

WASHINGTON – Representatives from the Domestic Policy Council, Department of Labor, Office of Personnel Management, and the Department of Veterans Affairs convened today for a roundtable on Mental Health at Work at the White House. The discussion focused on the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to promoting best practices to improve worker mental health in federal workplaces.

May 24, 2023

Investigation finds federal contractor misclassified employees who fought 2020, 2021 wildfires, denied them $152K in overtime wages, benefits

SUMMERVILLE, OR – A federal contractor in Oregon misclassified dozens of workers – who battled some of the nation’s worst wildfires an average of 70 hours a week in 2020 and 2021 – as independent contractors and denied them their full wages and benefits as a result, the U.S. Department of Labor has found.

May 24, 2023

US Department of Labor recovers $60K for restaurant employee denied protected medical leave, terminated for exercising rights

BRADENTON BEACH, FL – A federal investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $60,065 in back wages and liquidated damages for a former employee of a Bradenton Beach restaurant that forced them back to work the same day of their hospital discharge — despite doctor’s orders not to do so for three days — and terminated their employment less than a week later.

May 24, 2023

US Department of Labor announces Job Corps, New York City partnership to promote, recruit, connect students to careers, higher education

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a partnership between Job Corps and the City of New York to help recruit students and promote enrollment at local centers and inform their students and graduates about higher education institutions, social service programs and job opportunities with the city.

May 23, 2023

US Department of Labor recovers $363K in back wages, damages for 125 construction employees denied full pay by San Diego contractor

SAN DIEGO – A federal investigation of a San Diego environmental remediation and demolition contractor’s pay practices has recovered $363,444 in back wages and liquidated damages for 125 employees denied their rightful overtime and minimum wages.

May 23, 2023

Lubbock Mayor Payne recognizes ‘Digging Deep in Lubbock Workshop 2023’

Participants:  U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety

                              and Health Administration- Lubbock Area Office          

                              Damage Prevention Council of Texas

May 23, 2023

US Department of Labor offers webinar for grantee, applicants for federal grants to increase workplace safety training programs

Who: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration         

What: Fiscal Year 2023 Susan Harwood grant funding opportunity outreach

When: May 24, 2023, 2-3 p.m. EDT  

May 23, 2023

US Department of Labor announces more than $12M in grant funding available to support worker safety, health training initiatives

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of more than $12.7 million in funding to make more good jobs available to the U.S. workforce by supporting training initiatives designed to promote safety and health in the nation’s workplaces.

May 23, 2023

US Department of Labor announces availability of Brookwood-Sago grants to promote mine safety, health education, training

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of up to $1 million in grant funding through its Brookwood-Sago grant program, which supports the delivery of education and training to the nation’s mining community to help them identify, avoid and prevent unsafe and unhealthy working conditions.

May 23, 2023

US Department of Labor asks judge to force federal contractor to provide documents, info needed for equal employment opportunity evaluation

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has asked the Office of Administrative Law Judges to compel a federal contractor in the District of Columbia to provide documents and information needed to complete a scheduled compliance evaluation of the company’s equal employment opportunity practices.

May 18, 2023

READOUT: Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg helps wrap up Department of Labor’s national workforce development convening

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today welcomed Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to help close out “ETA Vision 2030: Investing in America,” a three-day event on the future of workforce development.

May 18, 2023

Hawaii restaurant’s managers pocketed employees’ tips illegally, leading US Department of Labor to recover $91K for 35 workers

HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $91,097 in unpaid wages and liquidated damages for workers employed by a Kapolei restaurant that allowed its managers to pocket some of the tips earned by its servers, cooks and kitchen helpers.

May 18, 2023

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending May 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 242,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 264,000. The 4-week moving average was 244,250, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 245,250.