WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on its proposal to modify the methodology used to determine the hourly Adverse Effect Wage Rates for the H-2A program. The proposed changes will better enable the department to meet its statutory mandate to ensure the employment of H-2A workers will not adversely affect the wages of workers in the United States similarly employed.

COLUMBIA, SC – The operator of five Charleston-area Marco’s Pizza locations paid $101,027 in civil penalties after federal investigators found the employer endangered minor-aged workers by allowing them to perform prohibited or hazardous duties and employed a 17-year-old worker illegally as a delivery driver.

PITTSBURGH – A Pittsburgh restaurant improperly used its tip pool – requiring workers to share tips with managers, supervisors and other employees not usually tipped by customers – leading to violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal investigation has found.

TARRYTOWN, NY – Three federal safety inspections at a Suffern condominium complex confirmed a Rockland County roofing contractor repeatedly exposed residential roof workers to potentially deadly falls from heights of 18 to 20 feet.   

LOS ANGELES – Today, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh visited the Port of Los Angeles to discuss the Biden-Harris administration’s historic economic growth and the easing of supply chain disruptions. Secretary Walsh provided remarks alongside leadership from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Rep. Nannette Barragán, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.

MILLEDGEVILLE, GA – A Milledgeville grocery store faces $9,362 in penalties after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the employer failed to protect employees from exposure to coronavirus and other safety hazards.

FAYETTEVILLE, NC - Sesenta y un trabajadores de una empresa de reparación y venta de motocicletas de Fayetteville recibieron los salarios que se les debían después de que el Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. descubriera que las prácticas de su empleador les negaba el pago de horas extras violando la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo (FLSA, por sus siglas en inglés).

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has extended the comment period for the COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard to Jan. 19, 2022. OSHA extended the comment period by 45 days to allow stakeholders additional time to review the ETS and collect information and data necessary for comment.

FAYETTEVILLE, NC – Sixty-one workers of a Fayetteville motorcycle repair and sales company received wages owed to them after the U.S. Department of Labor found their employer’s pay practices denied them overtime wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

GUAYNABO, PR – Oil and vapor releases into the air and fiery flares at a St. Croix refinery in February and May led to an investigation that found the operator failed to meet federal workplace chemical safety standards and endangered workers.

LANCASTER, TX – With a sharpening focus on the impact of “supply chains” on the timely delivery of goods, many Americans now understand that their ability to obtain goods and services depends on the hard work of logistics industry workers.

PROVIDENCE, RI – The sidewalls of an unprotected trench can collapse without warning and with great force – crushing and sometimes suffocating workers beneath tons of soil and debris – before they can react or escape. A federal inspection at a Warwick excavation found two area contractors ignoring the risks and placing their workers in serious danger.     

In the week ending November 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 199,000, a decrease of 71,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since November 15, 1969 when it was 197,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 268,000 to 270,000. The 4-week moving average was 252,250, a decrease of 21,000 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 500 from 272,750 to 273,250.

NEW YORK – The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York has entered a consent judgment ordering a Syracuse gas station and convenience store and a Jamesville pizzeria and convenience store and their owner to pay $56,364 in back wages and an equal amount of $56,364 in liquidated damages to 12 employees denied overtime wages.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that enforcements by its Employee Benefits Security Administration recovered more than $2.4 billion in direct payments to plans, participants and beneficiaries in fiscal year 2021.

DAWSONVILLE, GA – If federal workplace safety requirements had been followed, a North Georgia site grading and pipeline contractor could have prevented the death of a 24-year-old worker who was killed in May after a fork attachment used on a front-end loader dislodged and struck the worker.

WASHINGTON – As the nation concludes National Home Care and Hospice Month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s work on behalf of the country’s professional caregivers continues with the launch of an ongoing education, outreach and enforcement initiative to ensure their employers pay them their rightful wages and honor all protections afforded them by law.

WASHINGTON – Historically, high school students in the nation’s poorest neighborhoods have faced disproportionate barriers to obtaining an education equal to that available to students in the wealthiest neighborhoods. In the past year, closures and virtual learning forced by the pandemic are deepening this inequality and are likely to hurt disadvantaged students’ future earning potential, a recent Yale University study

WASHINGTON – With the National Retail Federation expecting retailers to hire more than 500,000 seasonal workers and employers hopeful for a busy holiday season, the U.S. Department of Labor reminds them not to overlook their worker’s rights to a safe and healthy workplace and to be paid all of their legally earned wages.

BIRMINGHAM, AL – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh stood with workers and local officials in Birmingham, Alabama, today to announce the department’s final rule that implements Executive Order 14026 to increase the hourly minimum wage for employees on federal contracts to $15 per hour beginning Jan. 30, 2022. President Biden signed the order on April 27, 2021.