CHICAGO ‒ Federal safety inspectors became aware that a 31-year-old employee of a Chicago countertop manufacturer needed a double lung transplant after suffering accelerated silicosis ‒ an incurable lung disease – and the U.S. Department of Labor immediately alerted the company of the potential imminent danger and an inspection by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found workers exposed to silica levels up to six times greater than permissible limits. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an initial award of $2.8 million to California in dislocated worker grant funding to support cleanup and recovery activities in eight counties in response to severe winter storms the state experienced between Jan. 31, 2024, and Feb. 9, 2024.

The storms caused river and urban flooding, mud and landslides, sinkhole formations, downed trees and damaged roadways, bridges and levee systems, as well as damage to public and private lands.

WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement today requested the government of Mexico conduct a review based on its finding that a denial of workers’ rights occurred at the Pirelli Neumáticos rubber tire manufacturing facility in Silao, Guanajuato.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Labor officials and representatives from the Mexican Embassy and other diplomatic missions joined today to mark Labor Rights Week 2024 with an event promoting migrant workers’ rights and how the department is safeguarding these rights. 

Employer:                              

Swahili Village Bar and Grill,  2 Center St., Newark, NJ  07102

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an initial award of more than $1.1 million in emergency grant funding to support employment and training of workers for cleanup and recovery activities after storms in north and south Florida in May and June 2024 spawned five tornadoes and flooded 17 counties.

EVANSVILLE, IN – The U.S.

WILKES-BARRE, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment to recover $1.3 million in back wages, withheld tips and liquidated damages for 51 workers employed by a Wilkes-Barre restaurant and its owner, whose pay practices illegally deprived workers of their full wages. 

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered the Southlake location of a national childcare provider to reinstate an employee and pay $43,295 in back wages and damages after the employer fired them for reporting concerns about unsanitary and unsafe conditions in the facility’s kitchen to Texas health officials. 

In the week ending August 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 232,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 227,000 to 228,000. The 4-week moving average was 236,000, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 236,500 to 236,750.

COLUMBIA, SC – The U.S. Department of Labor is encouraging employers and stakeholders in South Carolina’s highway construction industry to participate in a statewide survey to help its Wage and Hour Division establish prevailing wage rates for construction workers on federally funded and assisted construction projects.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an initial award of $2 million in emergency grant funding to Texas to support employment and training of workers to assist in cleanup and recovery activities in 67 counties stricken by the effects of Hurricane Beryl.

Employer name:             Turf Paradise Inc.

Investigation site:           41 3rd Ave. 

                                                  Longmont, CO 80501 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of more than $6.6 million to support continued disaster-relief employment and workforce training for eligible residents in Florida as the state’s recovery after Hurricane Idalia continues.

Employers:    Lasting Love Homecare LLC

                             1906 E. Broadway Ave.

                              Bismarck, ND

Date of action:           July 18, 2024

Type of action:          Administrative Review Board decision, order

Employer names:      Shalimar Distributors LLC, operating as Promised Land Truck Stop

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – As Michigan’s harvest season swings into high gear, the U.S. Department of Labor wants to remind employers of their responsibilities and seasonal workers of their rights under federal law. 

In the week ending August 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 227,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 233,000 to 234,000. The 4-week moving average was 236,500, a decrease of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 240,750 to 241,000.

HATTIESBURG, MS –The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with a Hattiesburg poultry processing plant that requires the company to pay $164,814 in fines and implement enhanced safety measures to protect their employees from well-known machine hazards.

ORLANDO, FL – A subsidiary of one of the world’s best-known operators of convenience stores and fueling stations could have prevented a store cashier in Orlando from suffering a serious gunshot injury by following the company’s own established safety procedures, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.