ELKINS PARK, PA – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has ordered SM Choi Inc. – which operates four fast-food establishments in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania – to pay $93,146 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 38 employees for willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Department also assessed the employer $26,121 in civil penalties.

AUSTIN, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for safety hazards after receiving a complaint of unsafe working conditions at an Austin, Texas, facility. The company faces proposed penalties totaling $224,585.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor has added compliance assistance materials on Association Health Plans (AHPs) to its new Employer.gov website that will help job creators and plan sponsors understand their Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) obligations when setting up and managing AHPs.

FAYETTE, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Larose Industries LLC – which operates as Cra-Z-Art – for continuing to expose employees to amputation hazards. The Fayette, Ohio, art supply manufacturer faces proposed penalties totaling $152,441 for repeated and serious safety violations.

WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division will host a public listening session in Washington, D.C., to gather views on the Part 541 white-collar exemption regulations, often known as the "Overtime Rule," on October 17, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. EDT.

SUPERIOR, WI – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Superior Refining Company LLC – based in Superior, Wisconsin – for failing to control the use and release of highly hazardous chemicals after an explosion and fire injured several employees. The company faces $83,150 in proposed penalties.

Investigators cited the refinery for eight serious violations of OSHA's process safety management procedures.

CHATTANOOGA, TN – A Tennessee poultry processing facility has paid $36,038 in back wages to 69 employees and a civil penalty of $7,469 after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found Koch Foods Inc. violated the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has awarded $10,537,000 in grant funding to support safety and health courses, and other programs. MSHA awarded grants to 46 states, the Navajo Nation, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will offer a compliance seminar for contractors, unions, workers and other interested parties to provide information on the rules governing federal prevailing wage requirements.

WHD will offer the training on October 24, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the Ivy Tech Community College Culinary and Conference Center, 2820 North Meridian St., Indianapolis, Indiana 46208.

CHARLESTON, SC – The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of South Carolina has ordered Hugo Villalpando, the owner of La Carreta Mexican restaurants in Charleston and Summerville, South Carolina, to pay $190,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 58 employees for violating the minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The action comes after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

NORWALK, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited American Excelsior Company – based in Norwalk, Ohio – for machine guarding hazards after an employee required hospitalization when he suffered a crushed arm. Proposed penalties total $213,411.

CAREY, OH – Continental Structural Plastics Inc. faces proposed penalties of $107,168 after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found employees exposed to amputation and struck-by hazards at its Carey, Ohio, facility.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta released the following statement today regarding the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA):

PHOENIX, AZ – The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona has entered a consent judgment requiring Bulletproof Securities Inc. of Phoenix, Arizona, to pay $39,500 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 151 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) that identified minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has awarded $9.3 million in Susan Harwood federal safety and health training grants to 74 nonprofit organizations nationwide. The grants will provide educational and training programs to help employees and employers recognize serious workplace hazards, implement injury prevention measures, and understand their rights and responsibilities.  

ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has signed a strategic partnership with the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute's Safety, Health, and Environmental Services Group, and Barton Malow Construction Co. to promote worker safety and health during the construction of the North Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics High School Project in Alpharetta, Georgia. The partnership aims to prevent injuries and exposure to hazards during construction of the 243,728-square-foot building.

MILAN, TN – American Ordnance LLC – based in Middletown, Iowa – has paid $678,296 in back wages, overtime, and fringe benefits to 63 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer violated provisions of the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA). American Ordnance LLC is an ammunition manufacturer for the U.S. military performing work at the Milan Munitions Plant in Milan, Tennessee.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor is celebrating National Disability Employment Awareness Month throughout October. The Department's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) previously announced the month-long theme is "America's Workforce: Empowering All."

NAPLES, FL – Fish Ristorante LLC has paid $50,391 in back wages and liquidated damages to 57 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the Naples, Florida, restaurant violated the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

PORT WENTWORTH, GA – Evicore Healthcare – a medical benefits management company based in Bluffton, South Carolina – has paid a former employee $17,760 in lost wages after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation determined the company violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).