WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of approximately $6 million in grants for the third round of the Workforce Data Quality Initiative. These funds will enable up to six additional states to build or expand longitudinal databases that link workforce and education data, enabling them to improve the performance of workforce programs.

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $406,101 National Emergency Grant increment to continue funding temporary jobs for cleanup and recovery efforts following damage caused by wildfires across the state of Texas in 2011.

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris issued the following statement about the February 2013 Employment Situation report released today.

"This morning's report shows a resilient economy continuing to recover. The economy added 236,000 new nonfarm payroll jobs last month. February marks three uninterrupted years of private sector employment growth, with a total of 6.4 million jobs created over that time.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today released Field Assistance Bulletin 2013-01 concerning new disclosure requirements mandated by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.

Company agrees to extensive monitoring program to ensure future FLSA compliance

MADISON, N.J. — Daniyal Enterprises LLC and owner Waseem Chaudhary, and other companies owned and operated by Chaudhary, have agreed to pay $2 million in overtime back wages and an additional $1 million in liquidated damages to 417 workers employed at 72 of Chaudhary's New Jersey gas stations after investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Date of Action: March 4, 2013

Type of Action: Default Judgment

Names of Defendants: Sun Mortgage Corp., LLC and Derek Michael Danks, president of Sun Mortgage, and Karen Williams, individually and as fiduciaries to the Sun Mortgage Corp., LLC 401(k) Plan

LARGO, Md. - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment removing NW Systems Inc., Nathan Williams and Jesus Rivera as fiduciaries of the NW Systems Inc. 401(k) plan and appointing GTrust Financial Partners, of Topeka, Kan., as an independent fiduciary with authority to administer the plan.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $391,539 National Emergency Grant to assist Arkansas with clean-up and recovery efforts after the severe winter storm that struck the state Dec. 25-26, 2012.

"The destruction caused by this severe storm affected lives throughout the state of Arkansas," said Jane Oates, assistant secretary of labor for employment and training. "There is a great deal of recovery work to be done, and the Labor Department is committed to helping Arkansans rebuild their communities."

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $2 million National Emergency Grant to assist Mississippi with cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of recent storms, tornadoes and flooding.

"This Labor Department grant will provide a lifeline to people who need work and a paycheck while allowing them to begin rebuilding their communities," said acting Secretary of Labor Seth D. Harris. "Investments like this strengthen communities by assisting in their recovery and putting local workers back on the job."

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $5,192,500 National Emergency Grant to assist workers and their families impacted by layoffs at coal mining companies in eastern Kentucky. This funding will provide re-employment services not only for miners who are laid off but for their spouses who have been homemakers and are, due to the loss of wages, seeking to enter the workforce to support their families.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded a $1,263,339 National Emergency Grant increment to continue employment-related services for more than 360 workers affected by layoffs in the commonwealth of Massachusetts from 12 companies, four of which provided staffing to the other eight.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced final rules under the Affordable Care Act to protect workers and employers whose health benefits are provided through Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements. The final rules increase the department's enforcement authority to protect participants in MEWAs and call for such plans to adhere to enhanced filing requirements.

Investigation found violations of Federal Railroad Safety Act whistleblower provisions

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of approximately $32 million through two grant competitions that will offer job training, education and support services to formerly incarcerated youths and women.

WASHINGTON — Carol Pier, acting deputy undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs, today announced that George Achibra of Ghana has won the department's 2012 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor. U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Gene A. Cretz presented the award to Achibra at a ceremony in Accra.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced final rules under the Affordable Care Act to protect workers and employers whose health benefits are provided through Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements. The final rules increase the department's enforcement authority to protect participants in MEWAs and call for such plans to adhere to enhanced filing requirements.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in federal court to restore $79,761.61 to the Hico Flex Brass Co. Inc. 401(k) plan. The suit alleges that the company, as well as former vice president Mark Isaacs and president Neil Isaacs, violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by failing to distribute plan assets to participants.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics has released a report titled "Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers: 2012." The report shows that 75.3 million workers in the United States age 16 and over were paid at hourly rates, representing 59 percent of all wage and salary workers. Among those paid by the hour, 1.6 million earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. About 2 million had wages below the federal minimum.

Company placed in OSHAs Severe Violator Enforcement Program

MINNEAPOLIS – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Highway Technologies Inc. in Minneapolis for 10 safety – including six willful – violations after a worker died from injuries sustained while working with equipment that came into contact with overhead power lines on I-94 near Menomonie, Wis.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement that provides for payment of more than $34 million to compensate employee benefit plans for losses suffered through investments in funds managed by Austin Capital Management, which indirectly invested in Bernard L. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. The agreement follows an earlier settlement with Austin Capital’s parent company, KeyCorp, for more than $9 million. Recoveries from both settlements total more than $43 million for plan investors in funds managed by Austin Capital.