MIAMI, FL – Belen Jesuit Preparatory School of Miami, Florida, will pay $635,269 to 461 employees for violations of the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) found in a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation. WHD also assessed the school $47,578 in civil money penalties for violations of the FLSA's child labor requirements.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta issued the following statement regarding the July 2018 Employment Situation report:

"July's report shows 157,000 jobs added, and 59,000 additional jobs revised from the May and June reports showing continued strength. Since the President's election, 3.9 million jobs have been created.

DALLAS, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Dollar Tree Stores Inc. for exposing workers to fire, smoke, and other hazards at a Dallas location. The national discount retailer faces $129,336 in proposed penalties.

COLUMBUS, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Sewing Collection Inc. – a coat hanger recycling company – for serious and repeat safety violations. The Columbus, Ohio-based company faces proposed penalties totaling $190,247.

An inspection in April 2018 found that the company exposed employees to fall, machine guarding, and electrical hazards; failed to train forklift operators; and did not have proper emergency exit signage.

STOW, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Polystar Inc. – doing business as Polystar Containment – for exposing employees to excessive noise after 12 employees' audiograms indicated mild to moderate hearing loss at its manufacturing plant in Stow, Ohio. The company faces penalties totaling $331,490.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will publish in tomorrow's Federal Register three Susan Harwood Training Grants funding opportunity announcements for Targeted Topic Training Grants, Training and Educational Materials Development Grants, and Capacity Building Grants.

SAN DIEGO, CA – The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California entered a consent judgment ordering Fisher Ranch LLC to pay $21,168 in back wages and $49,104 in civil money penalties for violations of the Migrant Seasonal Workers Protection Act (MSPA) following a 2017 work-related motor vehicle accident that killed one worker and injured six others outside of Calexico, California. This action follows a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation.

ATHOL, ID – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Merritt Bros. Lumber Company Inc. for exposing employees to multiple workplace safety hazards at its Athol facility. The Athol, Idaho-based company is facing $189,221 in proposed penalties.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced 12 appointees to the Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).

In the week ending July 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 218,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 217,000. The 4-week moving average was 214,500, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 218,000.

ORANGE CITY, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Pavemax Corp. for safety violations after an employee suffered fatal injuries at an Orange City worksite.

OSHA inspectors determined that a paver operator lacked proper training to use the equipment, and was allowed to stand on the equipment while it was in motion, and subsequently fell and was pulled under the paver.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced that it is accepting nominations to serve on the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, known as the ERISA Advisory Council. The terms of five Council members expire on Dec. 31, 2018.

DETROIT, MI – The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is conducting a building construction survey in the metropolitan counties of Michigan to collect data to establish prevailing wage rates, as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. The survey covers active building construction projects in metropolitan counties between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2018. It is not limited to federally funded construction projects.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and the Department of Labor (DOL) expanded their collaboration to better protect U.S. workers from discrimination by employers that prefer to hire temporary visa workers over qualified U.S. workers. This new partnership, memorialized in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), establishes protocols for the agencies to share information, refer matters between them, and train each other's employees, with the goal of better protecting U.S. workers.

PORTLAND, OR – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Vigor Marine Inc. for 16 willful and serious violations following an inspection at the shipbuilder's Portland, Oregon, facility. The company faces proposed penalties totaling $370,358.

PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA - Benjamin D. Coblentz, a Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania forestry and logging company, will pay $26,985 in civil money penalties after the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found violations of child labor provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) during an investigation of a serious injury sustained by an employee under the age of 16.

LITTLE ROCK, AR – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas has ordered Macuil's Tire And Service Center LLC and owner Sergio Macuil to pay $76,648 in back wages and liquidated damages to 12 employees for willful violations of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The employer was also assessed a $14,160 civil penalty.

ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) will hold six public stakeholder meetings and a webinar on the Agency's Request for Information (RFI) on Safety Improvement Technologies for Mobile Equipment at Surface Mines, and for Belt Conveyors at Surface and Underground Mines. The RFI was published in the Federal Register on June 26, 2018.

NEW KENSINGTON, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) will host an outreach event on Aug. 22, 2018, in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, to inform current and former nuclear weapons workers from 25 facilities in the state about the benefits available to them under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). Workers' family members may be entitled to benefits and are encouraged to participate. 

OKLAHOMA CITY– The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Patterson-UTI Drilling, Crescent Consulting LLC, and Skyline Directional Drilling LLC for exposing employees to fire and explosion hazards after five employees suffered fatal injuries.