October 1, 2021

Federal court enters judgment affirming US Department of Labor finding oil, energy services employer misclassified 700 Pennsylvania workers

PITTSBURGH – A federal court in Pittsburgh has entered a consent judgment in which a company that provided land services for the oil and gas industry admitted liability for more than $40 million in back wages and damages after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found Fair Labor Standards Act violations.

September 30, 2021

Biden-Harris administration issues third rule to implement No Surprises Act, protect Americans from surprise medical bills

WASHINGTON The Biden-Harris administration – through the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Treasury and the Office of Personnel Management – today issued an interim final rule with comment period to continue implementation of the No Surprises Act, a consumer protection law that helps curb the practice known as “surprise billing” for medical care.

September 30, 2021

US Department of Labor finds Tampa smelter willfully exposed workers to unsafe levels of airborne lead, despite experts’ warning

TAMPA, FL – Despite warnings since March 2020 of unsafe measures of lead exposure, a Tampa battery recycling facility and smelter failed to make changes that resulted in worker exposure to lead inhalation hazards, a federal workplace safety investigation found.

September 30, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $195.7M in grants to 58 states, territories, District of Columbia to strengthen fraud detection, prevention efforts

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced the recent awards of $195.7 million in grant funding to states and territories, and the District of Columbia to help them detect and combat fraud in their unemployment insurance programs.

September 30, 2021

US Department of Labor finds none of the nation’s mine operations met criteria for a pattern of violations

WASHINGTON – For the seventh year in a row, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration found none of the nation’s 12,000 mining operations met the criteria for one of the agency’s toughest enforcement tools, its pattern of violations screening.

September 30, 2021

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending September 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 362,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 351,000. The 4-week moving average was 340,000, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 335,750.

September 29, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $68M in grants for training, reemployment, supportive services to unemployed, underemployed workers

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of nearly $68 million in grant funding to help 29 organizations in 20 states and territories connect job seekers to employment as the economy continues its recovery from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The grant awards are part of a total $90 million in funding announced on Aug. 19, 2021.

September 29, 2021

US Department of Labor announces $10.5M in state grant funding to support mine safety, health throughout the nation

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration has awarded $10,537,000 in grant funding to support safety and health training, and other programs. MSHA awarded grants to 46 states, the Navajo Nation and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

September 29, 2021

Highmark Health subsidiary agrees to pay $410K to resolve alleged compensation discrimination found in federal compliance evaluation

PITTSBURGH A Pittsburgh-based company that provides IT support to health plan providers has agreed to pay $410,000 in back pay and interest after a federal compliance evaluation alleged the federal contractor’s pay practices discriminated against 67 employees in the Associate Consultant and Consultant positions.  

September 29, 2021

Court orders Northern New Jersey car washes, oil change shop to pay $325K in back wages, damages to 45 employees for underpaying workers

WESTWOOD, NJ – Owners of two Westwood car wash establishments and an oil change shop routinely shortchanged employees who worked long hours doing physically demanding work. As a result of a federal investigation and recent court order, the firm must pay $325,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for failing to pay the minimum wage and overtime. Some employees who worked as many as 70 hours in a workweek received only straight time for all the hours they worked.

September 29, 2021

US Department of Labor cites Colorado dairy farm operator for violations after vacuum truck driver suffers fatal injuries in unguarded manure pit

LASALLE, CO – A federal workplace safety investigation into the death of a 44-year-old worker, who drowned when the vacuum truck he was driving entered an unguarded manure holding pit, concluded that a LaSalle dairy farm failed to protect its workers from drowning and chemical hazards.

September 28, 2021

US Department of Labor awards more than $11.6M in grants to educate workers, employers on workplace safety, health

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced the award of more than $11.6 million in grants to 93 nonprofit organizations nationwide to fund education and training on hazard recognition and prevention, and on rights of workers to safe workplaces and the responsibilities of employers to provide them.

September 28, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $1M in Brookwood-Sago grants for mine safety education, training to 13 recipients

WASHINGTON, DCThe U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced the award of $1 million in Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety grant program funding to support education and training to help identify, avoid and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around the nation’s mines.

September 27, 2021

Una investigación federal recupera casi $100,000 en salarios atrasados para 53 trabajadores de la asistencia sanitaria a domicilio después de que el Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. descubriera violaciones de las horas extras

DANVILLE, VA - Cincuenta y tres auxiliares de atención personal y asistentes de enfermería certificados de una agencia de atención sanitaria a domicilio de Danville trabajaron horas extraordinarias para brindarles a sus clientes un cuidado compasivo y una mejor calidad de vida, pero su empleador no les pagó $99,427 por el tiempo adicional trabajado. Los salarios atrasados por horas extras han sido recuperados por el Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU.

September 27, 2021

US Department of Labor announces $29M in grants for job training, supportive services in Appalachian region, Lower Mississippi Delta

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor, in partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Delta Regional Authority, today announced the award of $29,175,000 in grants to 23 organizations to provide employment and training services to regional and local workforces.

September 27, 2021

Federal investigation recovers nearly $100K in back wages for 53 home healthcare workers after US Department of Labor found overtime violations

DANVILLE, VA Fifty-three personal care aides and certified nursing assistants of a Danville home healthcare agency worked overtime hours to provide clients with compassionate care and a better quality of life, but their employer failed to pay them $99,427 for the additional time worked – overtime back wages the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered for them.

September 27, 2021

US Department of Labor proposes $1.67M in fines for Ohio vehicle parts manufacturer after worker dies when crushed by machine

RAVENNA, OH – A Ravenna, Ohio, aluminum parts manufacturer with a history of safety violations now faces $1,671,738 in penalties for 38 safety and health violations following an investigation into the death of a 43-year-old worker struck by a machine’s barrier door on March 30, 2021.

September 27, 2021

US Department of Labor proposes $1.67M in fines for Ohio vehicle parts manufacturer after worker dies when crushed by machine

RAVENNA, OH – A Ravenna, Ohio, aluminum parts manufacturer with a history of safety violations now faces $1,671,738 in penalties for 38 safety and health violations following an investigation into the death of a 43-year-old worker struck by a machine’s barrier door on March 30, 2021.