LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles-based Japanese restaurant group has agreed to pay back wages of $144,721 to 66 employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division that disclosed systemic violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime, minimum wage and record-keeping provisions. The violations were found at seven locations of Bishamon Group Restaurants in Monterey Park, Covina, Arcadia, Costa Mesa and downtown Los Angeles.

Date of Action:  Aug. 18, 2011

Type of Action:  Judgment

Names of Defendants: Subspecialty Centers of America LLC in Merriville, Ind. and the company’s owner, Mark S. Weinberger.

Allegations: Subspecialty Centers of America LLC in Merriville and Weinberger, allegedly failing to administer and terminate the Subspecialty Centers of America LLC 401(k) Plan and Trust in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $918,010 National Emergency Grant to provide an array of services to about 325 workers being affected by layoffs at Polaris Industries in Osceola, Wis., and Robin Manufacturing U.S.A. Inc. in Hudson, Wis., to assist them in gaining new employment.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending August 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 408,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 399,000. The 4-week moving average was 402,500, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of 406,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent for the week ending August 6, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.9 percent.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two La Nopalera restaurants in Jacksonville and their owners have been ordered to pay 30 employees $934,425 in back wages and liquidated damages under the terms of consent judgments. The agreements resolve a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit based on an investigation by its Wage and Hour Division that alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage, overtime pay and record-keeping provisions.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued defunct SEI Environmental Inc. and its president, Wiley McAllen Finley, to force the repayment of employee contributions totaling $10,717 that the suit alleges were not forwarded to the environmental consulting company’s 401(k) plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

PASADENA, Texas – A consent judgment and order have been entered in federal district court requiring $28,504 to be restored to the Modern Plumbing Co. Inc. 401(k) Plan, resolving a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor. The suit alleged that the following defendants violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act: Modern Plumbing Co. Inc.; Modern Plumbing Supply Inc.; Modern Air Conditioning Inc., doing business as A/C Plus of Pasadena; and Albert Lloyd Hollub, one of the companies' majority owners.

SANDY, Utah – As part of continuing educational efforts by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration about the dangers of extreme heat, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced the release of a free application for mobile devices that will enable workers and supervisors to monitor the heat index at their work sites in order to prevent heat-related illnesses.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending August 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 395,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 402,000. The 4-week moving average was 405,000, a decrease of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average of 408,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent for the week ending July 30, a 0.1 percentage point decrease from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.0 percent.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $16,233,360 National Emergency Grant that will create 1,144 temporary jobs to assist in cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of spring storms and flooding that occurred in Ohio. Communities across 15 counties located in the Appalachian region were affected by the storms, which occurred between April 4 and May 15.

Public invited to comment during early stage of development

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding the decision to request an arbitral panel in a dispute over labor rights enforcement by Guatemala:

"I applaud U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk's decision today to request the establishment of an arbitral panel under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement in a dispute regarding the government of Guatemala's failure to effectively enforce its labor laws.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $670,000 National Emergency Grant to provide re-employment services to approximately 145 former workers of FTCA Inc. who were affected by layoffs at the company's plant in Somerset, Pa. FTCA closed the travel trailer and recreational camper manufacturing facility in January.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced 23 grants totaling $5,436,148 to provide homeless veterans with job training aimed at helping them succeed in civilian careers. The grants are being awarded by the department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service through the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the July 2011 Employment Situation report released today:

"Our nation's labor market continued to add jobs in the month of July. The private sector added 154,000 jobs, and total non-farm payrolls rose by 117,000, with a loss of 37,000 government jobs. The unemployment rate ticked down to 9.1 percent.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending July 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 400,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 401,000. The 4-week moving average was 407,750, a decrease of 6,750 from the previous week's revised average of 414,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.0 percent for the week ending July 23, unchanged from the prior week's revised rate of 3.0 percent.

WASHINGTON — Today at the National Disability Forum in Washington, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced the availability of approximately $1.6 million in funding for the Add Us In initiative, which will fund up to three cooperative agreements with allotments ranging from $500,000 to $550,000 each.

Agreement includes back pay and job opportunities for 39 minority and women applicants plus training for managers and human resources personnel

LINCOLNTON , N.C. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Lincolnton-based Belding Hausman Inc. and President Curtis Wilford Stowe to restore $144,459 in employee contributions, employee loan repayments and lost earnings to the defunct company’s deferred compensation plan. The lawsuit follows an investigation by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration that found the defendants violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

WASHINGTON – In a continuing effort to improve the Whistleblower Protection Program, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced that it is implementing additional measures to strengthen the program and is releasing an internal report detailing a recent top-to-bottom review of the program.