GUAYNABO, PR – While 62 employees at two hospice care centers in Puerto Rico provided vital services to comfort terminally ill people and their families, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found their employer’s pay practices hurt their ability to care for themselves and their families.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor is offering online compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders on the requirements governing payment of prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

ATLANTA – When federal workplace safety inspectors visited three Dollar General stores in Georgia earlier this year, they found exit routes obstructed, boxes of merchandise stacked unsafely and electrical panels hard to access, violations often cited at Dollar General locations.

ORLANDO, FL – Investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor of 11 central Florida heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractors have recovered more than $113,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 169 workers whose employers’ illegal pay practices denied them their full wages.

Who:                                       U.S. Department of Labor

Tuskegee State University faculty, students and career services professionals

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

                       Damage Prevention Council of Texas Northwest

                       Mayor Adam Steen, City of Monahans

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration has recognized the Department of Labor – for the fifth consecutive year – with an A+ on its Fiscal Year 2021 Small Business Federal Procurement Scorecard.

Date of action:                       Aug. 4, 2022

Type of action:                      Joint stipulation, order for preliminary injunction

BATON ROUGE, LA – Federal safety inspectors have cited the operator of several Baton Rouge-area car wash, oil change, fueling and convenience store locations after a workplace violence investigation into the stabbing of an assistant manager on Feb. 6, 2022. The employee was treated and later released from the hospital.

EVENT:         Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Mid-Atlantic Region Data Users Conference, in partnership with the Federal Reserve                                     Bank of Philadelphia

WHO:            Bureau of Labor Statistics

In the week ending August 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 262,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 12,000 from 260,000 to 248,000. The 4-week moving average was 252,000, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 7,250 from 254,750 to 247,500.

SOUTHAVEN, MS – The operator of five Wing Stop franchise locations in Mississippi who made employees pay for their uniforms, safety training, background checks and cash register shortages – and violated child labor regulations – has been held  accountable by the U.S. Department of Labor, and paid $114,427 in back wages, liquidated damages and civil penalties.

MINNEAPOLIS – After a federal investigation found a Golden Valley franchisee of a national chain of home healthcare providers failed to pay overtime to certified nursing and patient care assistants as required by law – and then attempted to mask the violations – the U.S. Department of Labor has filed a complaint in federal court in Minneapolis to recover back wages and damages.

PARK CITY, UT– A federal whistleblower investigation has found a Shreveport, Louisiana-based provider of helicopter ambulance services retaliated against a pilot in Utah who refused to fly twice in 2021 amid concerns about limited visibility.

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has entered into a multi-establishment conciliation agreement with Cerner Corp.

PITTSBURGH – In return for providing essential homecare for people in need, 218 workers employed by a Pittsburgh-based home care agency expected their employer to pay them all their hard-earned wages. Instead, they found their employer denied them overtime wages, and manipulated records to hide the wage theft.     

LOUISVILLE, CO – An administrative law judge in Denver has affirmed the findings of a U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety investigation that determined a Louisville acute inpatient psychiatric treatment facility exposed direct care employees – such as nurses and mental health technicians – to aggressive patients who regularly assaulted and seriously injured them.

DENVER – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Ryan Companies, builder of a five-story, 4,000,000-square-foot distribution center in Loveland, have entered into a strategic partnership to promote the safety and health of those working on the project. The Colorado Onsite Health and Safety Consultation Program at Colorado State University is also part of the partnership.

Employer:                                        Wooden Shoe Farms

Investigation site:                       673 North 825 West

ROCHESTER, NY – A federal investigation has recovered $228,379 in back wages for 260 employees of a Rochester-based home healthcare agency that denied them overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek.