WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $20 million in grants to help Americans who are injured or ill remain in or return to the workforce. The grants are intended to identify new, replicable strategies to help individuals with a work-related disability stay on the job.

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Dong Phuong Oriental Bakery Inc., doing business as DP Bakeshop, will pay $127,128 in back wages to 43 employees to settle overtime and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) found in an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

In the week ending May 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 234,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 222,000 to 223,000. The 4-week moving average was 219,750, an increase of 6,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 213,250 to 213,500.

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HIALEAH GARDENS, FL – South Florida medical transportation service company Care Transport Service LLC will pay $75,358 in back wages to 51 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

MIAMI, FL – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has found Endemol Latino NA, a TV production company in Miami, owes $70,341 in back wages to 82 employees for violating overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) will host outreach events in June 2018 in Grand Junction, Colorado, and in Moab, Utah, for former and current workers in the uranium mining and nuclear weapons industries. If a uranium mining or nuclear weapons worker is deceased, his or her surviving family members are invited to participate.

WASHINGTON, DC - In keeping with the U.S. Department of Labor’s  commitment to ensuring an American workforce for Americans of all abilities, this year’s official National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) theme will be “America’s Workforce: Empowering All,” the Department announced today.

NAPLES, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Douglas N. Higgins Inc., a South Florida utility company, after an employee suffered fatal injuries at a Naples Park worksite. The company faces $162,596 in proposed penalties, the maximum allowed.

AUBURN, NE – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found that El Portal Mexican Restaurant locations in Auburn, Nebraska, and Nebraska City, Nebraska, violated the minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). El Portal Mexican Restaurant will pay 23 employees $203,884 in back wages to resolve the violations.

WHD investigators found the restaurants’ FLSA violations included:

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Brandenburg Industrial Service Company have signed a strategic partnership to promote worker safety and health during the demolition of the former Bannister Federal Complex in Kansas City.

ORLANDO, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ordered Orlando-based SIMCOM Training Centers to reinstate a flight instructor who was terminated after he raised concerns about potential violations of Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

NEW HAVEN, CT – Following an investigation by its Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the U.S. Department of Labor has filed a federal lawsuit to recover unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages for 51 current and former employees of Care at Home LLC of New London, Connecticut. Filed in the U.S.

MILWAUKEE, WI – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited C & D Technologies Inc. for exposing employees to lead and failing to implement an effective lead management program. The Milwaukee battery manufacturer faces proposed penalties of $147,822 for two repeated and six serious violations.

WINDSOR, CO – As a result of a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, Coloscapes Concrete Inc. has paid $21,750 in back wages and $31,496 in civil money penalties to settle H-2B non-immigrant visa program violations, as well as $6,454 to resolve overtime and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

CENTRAL VALLEY, NY – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), McDonalds’ franchisee S&P Enterprises Inc. has paid $8,829 in penalties to resolve child labor violations in 11 northern New Jersey locations. 

BISMARCK, ND – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and several safety stakeholder organizations recently signed an alliance with North Dakota employers and employees to reduce exposure to trenching and excavation-related hazards.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced $85 million in grants to support and expand YouthBuild programs across the country. YouthBuild, a pre-apprenticeship model, provides at-risk youth ages 16-24 with education and occupational skill development to obtain employment in construction and other in-demand industries.

WASHINGTON, DC –The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) today issued a two-year extension of its enforcement moratorium relating to the affirmative obligations of TRICARE providers. This moratorium has been in effect for four years, and will now expire on May 7, 2021; it will also now apply to Veterans Affairs Health Benefits Program providers.

DELRAY BEACH, FL – The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has sentenced the owners of Angel’s Recovery - a Delray Beach substance abuse recovery residence - to prison and ordered them to pay $4,045,364 in restitution after a federal investigation found that they had defrauded healthcare benefit programs. The court sentenced Tovah Jasperson and her father, Alan Martin Bostom, to 78 months and 30 months in prison, respectively, and three years of supervised release; and ordered they be jointly responsible for restitution.

PHOENIX, AZ – Following a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona has ordered Synergy Commercial Service LLC and owner Eduardo Bernal to pay $351,869 in back wages and liquidated damages to 136 employees for minimum wage and overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The court also ordered the Gilbert-based janitorial company to pay $33,000 in civil money penalties.