DEDEDO, GUAM – Heavy equipment operators often work long hard days outdoors to meet deadlines and complete projects on schedule. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division exists to ensure that their employers pay them the wages they have legally earned, and takes action when they do not.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $816,675 in incremental funding to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to support job creation and workforce training services in eight areas affected significantly by widespread opioid use, addiction and overdose.

NORTHBROOK, IL – A federal court has approved the settlement of a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration whistleblower investigation that determined a Northbrook waste management company violated federal law when it retaliated against a former truck driver who reported a workplace injury and raised concerns to the company that an unrepaired truck was unsafe to operate.

MEDFORD, OR – Diners at Misoya Bistro in Medford were likely unaware that, for nearly two years, the owner was withholding nearly all of their workers’ tips.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $3 million in grant funding to support progress on labor standards, including occupational safety and health, hours of work and wages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

AVON, CO – A Colorado state court has sentenced the owner of an Avon construction company to jail and ordered restitution for the family of a 50-year-old company worker who suffered fatal injuries in a preventable trench collapse at a Granby work site in June 2018.

SEATTLE – Con la subida de las temperaturas en Washington, Oregón y Idaho, la Administración de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional del Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. recuerda a los empleadores que protejan a sus trabajadores expuestos a temperaturas de calor extremo.

El mensaje de OSHA es básico: Agua. Descanso. Sombra. Para proteger a sus trabajadores, los empleadores deben:

SEATTLE – As temperatures rise in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration reminds employers to protect their employees when they work in hot weather.

OSHA’s message is simple: Water. Rest. Shade. To protect their employees, employers should:

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor has taken legal action against two North Texas dentists on behalf of a dental hygienist and a dental assistant who were not reinstated after expressing concerns about what coronavirus safety measures would be in place when the practice reopened in spring 2020.  

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $92.6 million in funding to 47 states to provide training and employment services to eligible workers affected adversely by foreign trade.

LAKELAND, FL – Piece-rate pay practices make workers’ paychecks solely dependent on the amount of work produced, regardless of how many hours are worked. When using these practices, however, employers must still comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act and record all hours worked, pay minimum wage and overtime when applicable.

In the week ending July 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 360,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 13,000 from 373,000 to 386,000. The 4-week moving average was 382,500, a decrease of 14,500 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,500 from 394,500 to 397,000.

HUNTSVILLE, AL – On Jan. 15 an employee of a Huntsville contracting company entered a trench greater than 5 feet in depth to work on underground utility pipes.

FAYETTEVILLE, NC – Hotels commonly pay housekeepers on a piece-rate basis, often basing their pay on the number of rooms they cleaned or tasks they accomplished. When that approach allows workers’ wages to fall below the federal minimum wage, the employer has violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

WASHINGTON, DC – In collaboration with the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Department of Labor today issued an updated Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory.

MILWAUKEE – Despite two 2020 inspections that identified dangerous machine and noise hazards, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found a Milwaukee metal fabricating facility continues to put its workers’ safety and health at risk.

MANCHESTER, NH – The operator of two specialty grocery stores in New Hampshire and Maine, has paid $27,274 in civil money penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor after an investigation found that the employer employed minors to clean power-driven meat mixers and grinders. Federal child labor laws prohibit employees under 18 from cleaning or operating these machines.

CHICAGO – To combat the dangers workers face in grain handling, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Ohio On-Site Consultation Program, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the Ohio Agribusiness Association signed an alliance on July 9, 2021.

BUFFALO – On July 7, 2020, 35-year-old Timothy Barber collapsed at the end of his shift after working on the Genesee River Bridge Project in Geneseo. Treated for heat stress and heat exhaustion, he died from hyperthermia on his second day on the job.

GALLATIN, TN – A Mississippi-based plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor with 10 Southeast locations and nearly 75 years of experience has learned that federal contract wage violations can be costly.