WASHINGTON –The U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will participate in the trans-Atlantic tripartite Trade and Labor Dialogue, which was announced at the U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council Ministerial meeting in Paris on May 15-16, 2022. The dialogue will join trade unions, businesses and governments in the U.S. and Europe to discuss trade and labor issues.

WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU., renovó una iniciativa nacional de varios años para ayudar a los trabajadores y aumentar el cumplimiento federal por parte de los empleadores de servicios de alimentos, una industria en la que, en el año fiscal 2021, la División de Horas y Salarios del departamento encontró violaciones en casi el 85% de sus investigaciones de restaurantes.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has renewed a multi-year nationwide initiative to help workers and increase federal compliance by food service employers, an industry where – in fiscal year 2021 – the department’s Wage and Hour Division found violations in nearly 85 percent of its restaurant investigations.

These investigations led the division to recover more than $34.7 million in back wages for more than 29,000 workers and to assess employers with $3.2 million in penalties.

In the week ending May 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 218,000, an increase of 21,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 6,000 from 203,000 to 197,000. The 4-week moving average was 199,500, an increase of 8,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 1,500 from 192,750 to 191,250.

FULTON, MD - A pesar de servir las necesidades de adultos mayores en cuatro residencias de vivienda asistida en Maryland con alta calidad y atención compasiva, 27 trabajadores esenciales fueron víctimas de empleadores que no se preocuparon por su bienestar o por pagarles lo que ganaron legalmente.

WASHINGTON – The Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement today requested that the Mexican government conduct a review at the Panasonic Automotive Systems electronic parts facility in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, in response to a petition filed under the USMCA alleging that plant workers there have been denied the rights of free association and collective bargaining.

SAN FRANCISCO – Los trabajadores migrantes del programa H-2A de trabajadores agrícolas temporales brindan mano de obra estacional crítica a granjas de toda California, dedicando semanas fuera de casa en trabajos agotadores pero necesarios para apoyar la industria agrícola de $49 mil millones del estado.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a funding opportunity of $2 million for up to eight grants to help women who earn low wages to learn about and access their employment rights and benefits.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh visited George Washington University’s Hospital and Behavior Health Department on May 17, 2022, to meet with students, faculty and hospital residents to discuss ways to strengthen professional pathways to mental health care and to hear about workers’ experience with behavioral health service delivery and staff support amid the pandemic. 

DALLAS ─ The U.S. Department of Labor will hold an online listening session for Southwest employees and their stakeholders on May 25, 2022, on possible revisions to the regulations that enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees.

PORTLAND, OR – As the summer hiring season looms, employers are offering more opportunities for youth-aged workers to earn money and gain work experience than in recent years. In preparation for their early ventures into the working world, young workers should familiarize themselves – and employers should review practices and ensure compliance –with federal labor laws designed to ensure that the experience is rewarding and safe.

BRECKENRIDGE, CO – One worker suffered fatal injuries and two co-workers barely escaped similar fates when they were rescued from a trench that collapsed as they installed sewer pipes in a Breckenridge neighborhood on Nov. 16, 2021.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor will offer online compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders to provide information on the requirements governing payment of prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

Employer name:                     Morales Plumbing LLC

Investigation site:                  Meadows at Nicholson Family Apartments

Employer:                                 The Kroger Co. Inc.

Investigation site:                3095 Goodman Road

                                                       Southaven, MS 38672

SIOUX FALLS, SD - After severe weather, such as the windstorm that roared across South Dakota on May 12, workers and others involved in storm cleanup may face hazards related to falls, downed power lines and sharp debris as they conduct recovery and cleanup operations.

Employers and workers should also be aware of heat illness and hazards from equipment used during response/recovery operations, such as chain saws.

US Department of Labor recovers $198K for 19 workers denied overtime pay by Lynchburg, Virginia, restaurant

Employer name:                   

Jalisco Inc., doing business as La Carreta Mexican Restaurant

8210 Timberlake Road, Lynchburg, VA 24502

CAMBRIA, WI – A federal grand jury has indicted the operator and six management officials of a Cambria corn mill – where a May 31, 2017, explosion killed five workers and injured 15 others – on nine criminal counts, including two counts related to willful violations of federal workplace safety standards for grain handling.

SAN FRANCISCO – Migrant workers in the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program provide critical seasonal labor on farms across California, spending weeks away from home doing the grueling work needed to support the state’s $49 billion agricultural industry.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee met recently with Malaysia’s Minister of Human Resources Datuk Seri Saravanan Murugan to discuss issues of forced labor, worker voice, and protection of labor rights in the context of bilateral engagement and technical assistance work.