SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Nov. 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 502,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 514,000. The 4-week moving average was 519,750, a decrease of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average of 524,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.3 percent for the week ending Oct. 31, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.4 percent.

DENVER — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) today announced that DAL Global Services LLC in Denver has agreed to settle findings of hiring discrimination against 110 rejected Asian, black, white and female job applicants. The agreement resolves the department's allegations that the employer discriminated against applicants for the position of ramp agent at Denver International Airport.

GRANDVILLE, Mich. — Li Jin Yang and Dong Lin, a wife and husband operating five Oriental Forest restaurants, headquartered in Grandville with locations across the western part of Michigan, have been ordered by a federal court judge to pay $2,030,430 in minimum wage and overtime pay and damages owed to 129 workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.

Marietta – The Superior Court of Cobb County Georgia in Marietta has sentenced the owner of the Hoyla Insurance Group to serve five years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of probation, after his plea of guilty to 19 counts of theft, including theft of $65,000 from the company's 401(k) plan.

WASHINGTON – Deputy Secretary of Labor Seth Harris today testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Children and Families regarding workplace flexibility and paid leave in the context of the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic. Harris expressed the administration's strong support for the Healthy Families Act as a way to provide workplace flexibilities and increased economic security.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $394,617 grant to assist about 60 workers affected by layoffs at The Hinckley Co., a leading producer of pleasure boats and yachts, in Trenton, Maine.

"This grant will provide the retraining and job search assistance necessary for these Mainers to enter new careers in promising regional industries," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued commonsense fact sheets that employers and workers can use to promote safety during the current H1N1 influenza outbreak.

The fact sheets inform employers and workers about ways to reduce the risk of exposure to the 2009 H1N1 virus at work. Separate fact sheets for health care workers, who carry out tasks and activities that require close contact with 2009 H1N1 patients, contain additional precautions.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement on the October 2009 Employment Situation report released today:

"This past October, the economy lost 190,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate increased to 10.2 percent.

"We have known for some time now that the unemployment rate could reach this level, and it is an unacceptable situation. We are working hard to reverse these circumstances for the millions of Americans who need and want work but cannot find it.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that approximately 5,500 workers from companies in 16 states – Alabama, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin – are eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA).

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Oct. 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 512,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 532,000. The 4-week moving average was 523,750, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average of 526,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.4 percent for the week ending Oct. 24, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.4 percent.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Tyson Foods Inc., one of the nation's largest poultry producers, has been found in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at its Blountsville, Ala., facility. The jury's verdict in federal court in Birmingham resulted from a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor against the company.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today certified for release $108,455,561 in unemployment insurance (UI) modernization incentive funds to the commonwealth of Massachusetts.

SAN FRANCISCO — The owners of a Southland residential cleaning service were taken into custody and later released after failing to comply with a court order directing payment of $3.5 million in back wages, plus interest, fines and liquidated damages to at least 385 workers.

"It is unconscionable that an employer would continue to disregard the obligation to pay vulnerable workers, even after being ordered to do so by a federal judge," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis.

Boston — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order appointing an independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned 401(k) plan of Autolines Inc., a company formerly located in Whitman, Massachusetts.

Kearneysville, West Virginia – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed an adversary complaint in federal bankruptcy court against Sherry Hill, part owner of now defunct Stinger Sheet Metal, Inc., to prevent her from discharging an alleged debt of $63, 347 owed to the company’s SIMPLE IRA employee benefit plan.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an $827,616 grant to assist about 135 workers in the commonwealth of Massachusetts affected by the closure of Jabil Circuit Inc. in Billerica, Mass.

San Juan, Puerto Rico – Caribbean International News Corp. has been ordered by a federal court to restore more than $1.2 million to the El Vocero de Puerto Rico Union Employees Savings and Investment Plan, a retirement plan established for the benefit of the company’s unionized employees. The corporation does business as El Vocero de Puerto Rico, a newspaper based in San Juan.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today announced it is issuing $87,430,000 in proposed penalties to BP Products North America Inc. for the companys failure to correct potential hazards faced by employees. The fine is the largest in OSHAs history. The prior largest total penalty, $21 million, was issued in 2005, also against BP.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding the AFL-CIO and American Rights at Work report ICED OUT: How Immigration Enforcement Has Interfered with Workers Rights.

"The Department of Labor is firmly committed to protecting the rights of all workers, and especially the rights of the most vulnerable workers in our economy.

"The violation of any one worker's rights is cause for concern to all American workers. When unscrupulous employers abuse vulnerable workers, honest employers and their workers suffer.

Federal OSHA to review all state plan programs

WASHINGTON – Jordan Barab, acting assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), today told a Congressional committee that the serious shortcomings discovered during his agency's evaluation of the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration's safety program raised concerns about federal OSHA's monitoring of all state plan states.