In the week ending January 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 238,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 260,000 to 261,000. The 4-week moving average was 255,000, an increase of 7,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 247,000 to 247,250.

Employer name: Sinclair & Rush Inc.

Employer address: 640 Dell Road, Carlstadt, New Jersey 07072

Citations issued: On Jan. 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 10 serious and one other-than-serious safety and health citations.

DETROIT – A federal judge has signed a consent order and judgment against a Madison Heights company and ordered fiduciaries of the company’s retirement plan to restore $50,764 in employee payroll-deducted retirement contributions and lost opportunity costs to the plan, and pay a $10,153 penalty for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

PAGO PAGO, AS – A federal investigation recovered $23,358 in back wages for eight employees of a Pago Pago employer who failed to pay eight workers for work performed before and after their scheduled shifts. The employer required the work but failed to record the time and pay for the hours. Additionally, the employer illegally deducted meal breaks and lodging costs from worker’s pay.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Wage and Hour Division is seeking to add 100 investigators to its team to support its enforcement efforts including the protection of workers’ wages, migrant and seasonal workers, rights to family and medical leave and prevailing wage requirements for workers on federal contracts.

SEATTLE – A federal investigation recovered $96,973 in back wages and liquidated damages from the operator of 11 frozen yogurt shops in Washington and Oregon who allowed store managers to take a portion of workers’ tips illegally, and failed to pay some workers overtime wages when they worked over 40 hours in a workweek. The employer also did not keep an accurate record of hours worked.

MANCHESTER, NH – A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation has determined Smokers Haven Inc. and owner Brett Scott violated the anti-retaliation, overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor recovered $117,718 in back wages and liquidated damages to 33 workers after their employer in Hawaii recklessly denied them overtime wages they earned.

JACKSONVILLE, FL – A federal court assessed a $50,000 penalty to a north Florida construction contractor for attempting to deceive federal workplace safety investigators.

ARDMORE, PA – A federal court in Pennsylvania has ordered an Ardmore employer who denied more than $1.4 million in wages to hundreds of home care workers in the Philadelphia area to pay its workers more than $2.8 million in back wages and liquidated damages.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it is accepting applications for the 2022 HIRE Vets Medallion Award. The award is presented annually to employers that meet standards for excellence in the recruitment, hiring and retention of America’s military veterans.

WASHINGTON – Fatal overdoses in New York have nearly tripled in the last decade, with nearly 85 percent of them linked to controlled substances, including opioids. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates fatal opioid overdoses kill 91 people each day in the U.S.

WASHINGTON – At the height of the pandemic, displaced workers flooded state unemployment insurance systems across the nation with requests for assistance and benefits, exposing many antiquated systems and their vulnerabilities.

WASHINGTON – In the last decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the number of fatal overdoses in West Virginia has nearly tripled, nearly 85 percent of them linked to controlled substances including opioids. Nationally, the CDC estimates 91 of the more than 140 Americans who die each day from drug overdose fall victim to opioids.

WASHINGTON – With opioid-related overdoses linked to nearly 2,700 deaths in Maine between 2010 and 2019, and tens of thousands of Maine residents living with chronic addiction, opioid usage remains a serious health emergency there.

NORFOLK, VA – A federal court in Virginia has entered a judgment ordering a Norfolk-based medical staffing agency, which intentionally violated federal laws and denied 1,105 certified nursing aides, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses their rightfully earned overtime wages, to pay more than $7.2 million in back wages and liquidated damages.

In the week ending January 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 260,000, a decrease of 30,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 4,000 from 286,000 to 290,000. The 4-week moving average was 247,000, an increase of 15,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 1,000 from 231,000 to 232,000.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor – in collaboration with the Departments of the Treasury, State, Commerce, Homeland Security and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative – today issued a Burma Business Advisory highlighting the risks of doing business due to corruption, illicit finance and human rights abuses.

NEW YORK – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has entered a consent judgment  ordering a Brooklyn bus and shuttle service to pay $742,500 in back wages and liquidated damages for overtime wages denied to 368 shuttle drivers, following an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a new program designed to encourage and help America’s miners to get the COVID-19 protections that vaccinations offer.