WASHINGTON – To continue to promote equitable access, prevent and detect fraud, and recover fraudulent payments and ensure timely benefits, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the publication of an Unemployment Insurance Equitable Access toolkit to help states provide all workers with equitable access. The department has engaged in active efforts to help states promote equitable access for all workers, representing the most consistent focus on equitable access in the 90-year history of the UI program.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an initial grant of $800,000 to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security for cleanup and recovery activities after severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes in March 2023 killed 21 people and ravaged towns.

RESTON, VA – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with a technology solutions provider to resolve alleged systemic hiring discrimination against Black applicants at the company’s Reston headquarters.

Employer:      Mcdreams Enterprises Inc., operating as Zaxby’s

                        1660 441 Historic Highway N

                        Clarkesville, GA 30523

WASHINGTON – On April 28, 1970, the nation first observed Workers Memorial Day at a time when an estimated 38 people died on the job in the U.S. each day. More than a half century later, this annual tribute endures as do the determined efforts of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Mine Safety and Health Administration to help protect the lives of our nation’s workers.

Participants:

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

Moss & Associates LLC

University of South Florida On-Site Consultation Program

What:             Safety partnership agreement

WINTER GARDEN, FL – Federal workplace safety inspectors have found Dollar General Corp., one of the nation’s largest discount retailers, exposing its employees and others to unsafe conditions again, this time in Winter Garden, Florida. 

DELRAY BEACH, FL – A federal whistleblower investigation has uncovered that Delray Beach retaliated against a city inspector who was fired after finding and reporting faults in the local water system that caused contamination of the public water supply.

OMAHA, NE – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $272,163 in overtime back wages for 133 workers employed by an Omaha-based operator of six bars, restaurants and live music venues that used a tip pool illegally, and denied servers and salaried employees correct overtime wages.

In the week ending April 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 245,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 239,000 to 240,000. The 4-week moving average was 239,750, a decrease of 500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 240,000 to 240,250.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a settlement with the Prudential Insurance Company of America — a subsidiary of Prudential Financial Inc. — that will require the financial giant to revise its practices after a federal investigation found the Newark, New Jersey-based company collected life insurance premiums from participants for extended periods, but then denied numerous claims after the participants died, citing the participants’ failure to provide evidence of insurability when they applied for insurance.

Participant:   Hellman & Associates Inc.   

                             11913 West I-70 Frontage Road North

                             Wheat Ridge, CO 80033

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

Ringland-Johnson Construction Company

Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council

GREENWOOD, MS – Had federal workplace safety regulations been followed at a LeFlore County soybean farm, a South African teenager employed by its operator would have returned home and not suffocated inside a grain bin in October 2022.

Nombre del empleador:       Jurassic Street Tacos LLC                                       

Lugar de investigación:        242 East University Parkway Orem, UT 84058

Employer name:            Jurassic Street Tacos LLC

Investigation site:          242 East University Parkway Orem, UT 84058

                                                  275 North 500 West Provo, UT 84601

WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor today hosted an online “think tank” on the use of artificial intelligence tools in hiring during which federal agencies, technology innovators, disability organizations and civil rights groups convened to explore strategies for ensuring that automated employment decision tools treat workers with disabilities and other underserved communities equally.

AMBLER, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order to enable the recovery of $317,097 in back wages for three U.S. and 56 workers from Mexico employed by an Ambler, Pennsylvania, swimming pool subcontractor under the federal H-2B guest worker visa program.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an incremental award of $90,188 to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development to provide continued reemployment and training services to people in the Lower Merrimack Valley affected by manufacturing industry layoffs. 

PRESCOTT, AZ – Federal safety inspectors found that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs endangered maintenance workers at its healthcare facility in Prescott by allowing them to work on steam lines without ensuring they followed required safety procedures.