December 21, 2021

Federal court orders care facility employers to pay attorneys’ fee to US Department of Labor after failing to comply with OSHA subpoena

BOSTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Act authorizes the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue subpoenas to request necessary documents as part of an OSHA inspection. If a recipient fails to comply, the department may then move to enforce the subpoena in federal district court. A recent decision by the U.S.

December 21, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $10M to promote gender equity, reduce workplace discrimination, harassment in Mexico

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $10 million cooperative agreement to Partners of the Americas to strengthen gender equity efforts in Mexico and reduce workplace discrimination and harassment.

December 21, 2021

US Department of Labor finds violations at Mississippi fish farms, recovers more than $102K in back wages for 123 workers

JACKSON, MS – Federal investigations of six Mississippi fish farms by the U.S. Department of Labor have led to the recovery of $102,176 in back wages for 123 workers and the assessment of $69,122 in civil money penalties.

December 21, 2021

Department of Labor awards $5M grant to combat forced labor, child labor abuses in Malaysia’s palm oil, garment industries

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $5 million cooperative agreement to Social Accountability International to prevent and reduce forced labor and child labor abuses in the Malaysian palm oil and garment industries.

December 20, 2021

US Department of Labor finds Hawaii restaurants operator shortchanged cooks in Honolulu, Kailua, failed to pay overtime wages

HONOLULU – A U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division investigation found the operator of two Hawaii restaurants denied workers overtime wages, and failed to record the hours of work for its kitchen cooks accurately, both violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

December 20, 2021

US Department of Labor finds roofing contractors willfully ignored fall protections that led to 19-year-old worker’s deadly fall

NEVILLE ISLAND, PA – A workplace safety investigation into the June death in Neville Island of a 19-year-old roofing worker who fell 30 feet through an unprotected skylight found two commercial contractors willfully failed to use fall protection systems that might have saved his life.

December 20, 2021

Tribunal federal ordena a contratista de Massachusetts con antecedentes de violaciones laborales al pago de $438,000 en horas extras a 250 empleados

BOSTON – El Tribunal de Distrito de EE.UU. por el distrito de Massachusetts ha ordenado a un contratista de Massachusetts pagar $438,000 en salarios atrasados a 250 empleados por violaciones de la Ley de Normas Laborales Justas después de que el tribunal ya ordenara al contratista pagar compensación por daños por represalias.

December 20, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $8M grant to promote worker safety, health in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of an $8 million grant to support a global health organization’s efforts to improve workplace safety and health in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.

December 20, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $5M grant to help agricultural supply chain workers in Honduras, Guatemala; garment workers in El Salvador

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $5 million cooperative agreement to the American Center for International Labor Solidarity to improve workers’ rights in agricultural supply chains in Honduras and Guatemala, and the garment sector in El Salvador.

December 20, 2021

O tribunal federal condena empresa de Massachusetts com histórico de violações do Ato de Padrões Justos do Trabalho (FLSA) a pagar $438,000 em horas extras não pagas a 250 trabalhadores

BOSTON – O Tribunal Distrital dos EUA para o Distrito de Massachusetts condenou uma empresa de Massachusetts a pagar $438.000 em salários atrasados a 250 trabalhadores por violação do Ato dos Padrões Justos de Trabalho , depois de o tribunal ter previamente ordenado o contratante a pagar indenização por danos punitivos por retaliação ilegal sob a FLSA.

December 20, 2021

US Department of Labor finds Leawood contractor continues to expose workers to asbestos, other hazards at historic Kansas City site

KANSAS CITY, MO – A Leawood contractor rehabbing the Firestone, Shankman and Michaelson buildings in Kansas City’s historic Troost commercial district continues to expose its workers to asbestos and other workplace hazards, a June 29, 2021, federal safety and health investigation has found.

December 20, 2021

Federal court orders Massachusetts contractor with history of FLSA violations to pay $438K in unpaid overtime to 250 employees

BOSTON – The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts has ordered a Massachusetts contractor to pay $438,000 in back wages to 250 employees for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act after the court had previously ordered the contractor to pay punitive damages for unlawful retaliation under the FLSA. Woburn-based JKA Construction Inc. and owners Clesio Da Silva, Fabio Da Costa, Rafael De Paula and Josias De Paula must also pay $64,750 in civil money penalties to the U.S.

December 18, 2021

Statement from the US Department of Labor on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals dissolving the stay of OSHA emergency temporary standard on vaccination and testing

“OSHA is gratified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dissolved the Fifth Circuit’s stay of the Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard. OSHA can now once again implement this vital workplace health standard, which will protect the health of workers by mitigating the spread of the unprecedented virus in the workplace.

December 17, 2021

US Department of Labor offers virtual seminar to help employers comply with the $15 per hour federal contractor worker minimum wage

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Wage and Hour Division will present virtual compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders to provide information on Executive Order 14026, “Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors.” The Federal Contract Minimum Wage Executive Order applies across the country and its territories and does the following:

December 17, 2021

US Department of Labor awards $8M to Industry Intermediaries to expand Registered Apprenticeship models in care economy, supply chain sectors

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of more than $8 million in contract investments to four national Industry Intermediaries to expand the use of Registered Apprenticeship in sectors affected by the pandemic. The department is seeking to develop apprenticeship opportunities for all U.S. workers, in particular those from under-represented and underserved populations. 

December 17, 2021

US Department of Labor announces first Johnson & Johnson Vision training program graduates at Jacksonville Job Corps Center

JACKSONVILLE, FL – In early November, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Jacksonville Job Corps Center signed a memorandum of understanding with Johnson & Johnson Vision to make its advanced manufacturing production technology training program available to Job Corps students.

On Dec. 17, the joint agreement moved three of the Florida center’s students one step closer to beginning their careers in robotics as the program produced its first class of graduates.

December 17, 2021

US Department of Labor to hold public hearing on proposed rule to improve safe use of mobile, powered-haulage mining equipment

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor will reopen the rulemaking record and hold a virtual public hearing on Jan. 11, 2022, on the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s proposed rule for Safety Program for Surface Mobile Equipment to improve safe usage of mobile, powered-haulage equipment.

December 16, 2021

Federal investigation, consent judgment leads to recovery of $170K in back wages, damages for 17 workers at two Austin-area restaurants

AUSTIN, TX – A federal investigation and consent judgment has recovered $170,000 in back wages and liquidated damages from the operator of two Austin-area restaurants who denied overtime to 17 kitchen workers who labored 60 hours a week. The probe found the restaurants’ operator later submitted falsified documents to investigators to make it appear they had paid overtime pay to resolve Fair Labor Standards Act violations found by the U.S.

December 16, 2021

New Hampshire wineries, restaurants, event venues operator pays $22,803 in civil penalties for child labor violations

MANCHESTER, NH – The owners of two southern New Hampshire wineries, restaurants, event venues and retail operations in Amherst and Derry violated the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act when they allowed 33 employees younger than 16 years of age to work more hours than allowed under the law.

December 16, 2021

US Department of Labor proposes $204K in fines after worker suffers amputation at Arkansas wood flooring plant

MONTICELLO, AR – A knot saw operator suffered a partial amputation of an index finger in June 2021 when his hand came in contact with a rotating blade that lacked adequate machine guarding. A few weeks earlier, a similar saw at the Maxwell Hardwood Flooring plant in Monticello lacerated a co-worker’s palm severely, leaving them with nerve damage.