March 16, 2016

With nearly 8 percent of Nebraska workers hurt on the job, OSHA focuses education, enforcement effort on meat processing industry

OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska workers in the meat processing industry are more likely to be injured on the job, than many others employed in the Husker state. The higher-than-average rate has led the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to launch a new Local Emphasis Program in the meat processing industry. 

March 16, 2016

Tampa assisted living facility to pay more than $56K in back wages to 9 employees following US Labor Department investigation

Employer name: Toria’s Adult Living Facilities I & II, doing business as Toria’s Support Care Services Inc.

Investigation site: 3702 E. Osborne Ave., Tampa, Florida 33619

March 16, 2016

Safety, health hazards at Florida Walmart Supercenter violate corporate-wide safety agreement

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Walmart continues to endanger the safety and health of its employees despite a 2013 corporate-wide settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to improve safety and health conditions at all of its store locations.

March 15, 2016

Labor Department announces availability of $338 million in grants for job training, related services to unemployed, low-income seniors

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the opening of a $338 million grant competition for national organizations to provide critical job training and related services to low-income, older American workers through the Senior Community Service Employment Program

March 15, 2016

Labor Department announces availability of $338 million in grants

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the opening of a $338 million grant competition for national organizations to provide critical job training and related services to low-income, older American workers through the Senior Community Service Employment Program

March 15, 2016

Arctic Glacier USA exposed employees to serious chemical, electrical and exit hazards at Hicksville, Long Island ice plant

WESTBURY, NY — To make ice products at Arctic Glacier U.S.A. Inc.’s Hicksville plant, the company uses large amounts of anhydrous ammonia in the plant’s refrigeration system. When working with large amounts of hazardous chemicals such as ammonia, an employer must have a comprehensive and effective program in place for their safe management and the protection of its workers.

March 15, 2016

Department sues defunct Philadelphia non-profit to appoint independent fiduciary to terminate 401(k) plan

Date of Action: March 4, 2016

Name(s) of Defendants: Philadelphia Committee for the Prevention of Blindness

March 15, 2016

U.S. Labor Department lawsuit seeks back wages and damages for Austintown, Ohio restaurant workers

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Lawsuit Filing

Names of Defendants: Salsitas, Inc. doing business as Salsitas Mexican Restaurant & Cantina, and Oscar McBenttes

March 15, 2016

ERISA Advisory Council to meet March 16

WASHINGTON — The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council, will meet on March 16, 2016, at the U.S. Department of Labor’s headquarters at 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room S-2508, Washington, D.C. 20210. The meeting will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. eastern.

March 15, 2016

A serial OSHA offender, Wisconsin contractor continues to risk workers’ safety

EDGERTON, Wis. ‒ Some may argue the belief that the number “13” brings misfortune is just superstition, but there is no doubt that fall safety violations by a Wisconsin roofing contractor found in 13 inspections in 10 years are a tragedy waiting to happen. Falls are a leading cause of death in the construction industry, accounting for nearly 40 percent of fatalities in 2014.

March 15, 2016

Assistance in Bridgeton, Missouri for current, former nuclear weapons workers, families, survivors to claim benefits, check claim status

Event: The U.S. Department of Labor will host a two-day outreach event for current and former nuclear weapons workers, and their families and survivors in Bridgeton, Missouri, on Tuesday, March 29 and Wednesday, March 30.

March 15, 2016

Ohio contractor continues to risk safety of siding installers

AVON, Ohio ‒ Each time a worker mounts a scaffold they risk a dangerous fall, the leading causing of death in the construction industry. One in four who died working in the construction industry in 2014 died in a fall.

March 15, 2016

OSHA cites Lunda Construction again after death of 18-year-old apprentice at the Bong Bridge resurfacing project, 3rd fatality on Lunda site since 2012

SUPERIOR, Wis. — An 18-year-old man lost his life just three months after starting work for Lunda Construction Company. The carpenter’s apprentice was mixing concrete for the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge resurfacing project when a rough-terrain forklift struck and killed him. The bridge spans St. Louis Bay between Superior and Duluth, Minnesota. Since 2012, three workers have died while working on Lunda highway construction projects.

March 15, 2016

Labor Department obtains judgment and order against Carolina Crawler & Equipment of Charleston Inc. to restore employee contributions to the company’s SIMPLE IRA plan

Date of Action: March 11, 2016

Type of Action: Consent Judgment and Order

Name of Defendants: Carolina Crawler & Equipment of Charleston Inc., Susan Mills, Glenn Perry Mills, Carolina Crawler & Equipment SIMPLE IRA Plan

March 14, 2016

Sugar Land oil and gas services provider to pay $225K in back wages, damages after US Labor Department investigation

Employer: Plant Engineering Services LLC

Site: 1 Fluor Daniel Drive, Sugar Land, Texas

March 14, 2016

Oil, gas industry workers in 9 states owed more than $1.6M in back wages ongoing Labor Department enforcement initiative finds

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has added four companies and an additional $1.6 million in back wages for more than 2,500 employees as its effort to improve labor law compliance in the oil and gas industry continues.

March 14, 2016

OSHA orders JP Morgan Chase Bank to reinstate fired operations manager who raised concerns about financial transactions’ validity

NEW YORK – JP Morgan Chase Bank terminated a loan delivery operations manager at its Iselin, New Jersey offices illegally after he raised concerns about financial transactions to his superiors, a whistleblower investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

March 14, 2016

US Labor Department investigation results in judgment against Phoenix-based Colmenero’s Pallets

PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor sued a Phoenix-based pallet manufacturer after an investigation found that the company employed a combination of tactics to circumvent federal labor laws, including using fictitious names for workers, improperly labeling others as ‘vendors,’ and routinely destroying time cards at the end of each pay period.

March 14, 2016

Recycling company faces $84K in fines after failing to correct previously cited workplace safety hazards

Employer name: ALSS Recycling Inc.

Inspection site: 2600 Republic Blvd., Birmingham, Alabama 35203

March 14, 2016

Department initiative finds $413K in back wages for nearly 400 workers

TAMPA, Fla. – Assisted living facilities are often judged by how well they care for their patients – but how well are they caring for their workers?