WASHINGTON — Cargill Meat Solutions, headquartered in Wichita, Kan., has agreed to settle charges of hiring discrimination based on race and sex with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Under the agreement, Cargill will pay $2,236,218 in back wages and interest to 2,959 applicants who were rejected for production jobs at facilities in Springdale, Ark.; Fort Morgan, Colo.; and Beardstown, Ill., between 2005 and 2009.

WASHINGTON — Cargill Meat Solutions, headquartered in Wichita, Kan., has agreed to settle charges of hiring discrimination based on race and sex with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Under the agreement, Cargill will pay $2,236,218 in back wages and interest to 2,959 applicants who were rejected for production jobs at facilities in Springdale, Ark.; Fort Morgan, Colo.; and Beardstown, Ill., between 2005 and 2009.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $10 million settlement agreement with People Care Holdings Inc. and former owners Bruce Jacobson and Jerry Lewkowitz, who sold the company to their employees through creation of an employee stock ownership plan. The department contended that they violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by permitting the ESOP to purchase People Care stock from them for more than its fair market value.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today issued the following statement regarding Monday's catastrophe at International Nutrition Inc. in Omaha:

"My deepest condolences go out to the families and communities that lost loved ones in the tragedy at International Nutrition Inc. in Omaha. It is heartbreaking when workers lose their lives while providing for their families.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending January 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 326,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 328,000. The 4-week moving average was 335,000, a decrease of 13,500 from the previous week's revised average of 348,500.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An ongoing enforcement initiative conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division focusing on the child care industry in Kentucky has uncovered significant violations of the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In fiscal year 2013, the division's Louisville District Office conducted 59 cases involving child care providers, resulting in more than $170,000 in back wages for more than 600 workers.

Date of Action: Jan. 14, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: Stephanie J. Jochims and Robert C. Jochims

Allegations: The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against Stephanie J. Jochims, the former owner of Western Steel Erection, Inc., and her husband Robert C. Jochims, in an effort to recover $5,167 in employee retirement contributions and loan repayments intended for the Western Steel Erection 401(k) Plan. The company was located in Long Lake, Minn.

Date of Action: Jan. 2, 2014

Type of Action: Default Judgment and Order

Names of Defendants: Zohouri Group LLC and Farbod S. Zohouri

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today launched a new educational Web resource, http://www.osha.gov/hospitals, which has extensive materials to help hospitals prevent worker injuries, assess workplace safety needs, enhance safe patient handling programs, and implement safety and health management systems. The materials include fact books, self-assessments and best practice guides.

Date of Action: Jan. 8, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Order and Judgment

Name of Defendant: Hico Flex Brass Co., Inc., Mark Isaacs, and Neil Isaacs

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today that the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has overturned a decision by Administrative Law Judge Jerold Feldman involving Wolf Run Mining Co.'s Sago Mine in Upshure County, W. Va., where 12 miners died in a massive explosion Jan. 2, 2006. The commission found that the mine operator's failure to notify MSHA and mine rescue teams immediately after the explosion involved unwarrantable failure and high negligence.

OAKLAND, Calif. — An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division resulted in the restoration of $1,979,779 in 401(k) pension benefits to 515 drivers working on U.S. Postal Service contracts for Lange Trucking Inc. because of violations of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act. The company, along with its President, William A. Langenhuizen; Vice President, William H.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today that the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has overturned a decision by Administrative Law Judge Jerold Feldman involving Wolf Run Mining Co.'s Sago Mine in Upshure County, W. Va., where 12 miners died in a massive explosion Jan. 2, 2006. The commission found that the mine operator's failure to notify MSHA and mine rescue teams immediately after the explosion involved unwarrantable failure and high negligence.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today that, as of Dec. 31, 2013, the agency had addressed the 100 recommendations published in a March 2012 internal review report, meeting the specific timetables and deadlines it had set for implementation of each recommendation. That report examined the agency's actions in the months leading up to the April 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion, which killed 29 miners, injured two and led to sweeping changes in mine safety.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today issued the following statement regarding Rep. George Miller's announcement to retire at the end of his 20th term in the House of Representatives:

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today that, as of Dec. 31, 2013, the agency had addressed the 100 recommendations published in a March 2012 internal review report, meeting the specific timetables and deadlines it had set for implementation of each recommendation. That report examined the agency's actions in the months leading up to the April 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion, which killed 29 miners, injured two and led to sweeping changes in mine safety.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the December 2013 Employment Situation report released today:

"The U.S. economy closed out 2013 by adding 74,000 jobs, bringing the 2013 total to nearly 2.2 million new jobs. With 87,000 new private-sector jobs in December, that makes 8.2 million jobs created by the private sector over the last 46 straight months. The December unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending January 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 330,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 345,000. The 4-week moving average was 349,000, a decrease of 9,750 from the previous week's revised average of 358,750.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today that the department has settled two discrimination cases with Nyrstar Tennessee Mines – Gordonsville LLC, which operates the Cumberland and Elmwood/Gordonsville Mines in Smith County, Tenn. According to the settlement, which was approved by Kenneth R.

Date of Action: Dec. 12, 2013

Type of Action: Consent Judgment and Order

Name(s) of Defendant: Counseling and Educational Consultants, doing business as Rumford Day Nursery, Inc., and Deborah Very-King