WASHINGTON — The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury today published a final rule that adjusts regulations originally issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 regarding dental and vision benefits. The new rule also expands the definition of excepted benefits to include employee assistance programs.

CHICAGO — Workers renovating a historical 1887 firehouse in Chicago were exposed to asbestos and electrical hazards, according to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The inspection found Structure Development Midwest LLC failed to collect and dispose of asbestos-containing material in sealed, labeled and waterproof bags.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy announced today a cooperative agreement award of $1,848,350 to The Viscardi Center in Albertson, New York, to manage and operate the National Employer Policy, Research and Technical Assistance Center on the Employment of People with Disabilities.

The center will be a resource to assist employers with recruiting, hiring, retaining and promoting people with disabilities by:

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy announced today a cooperative agreement award of $1,848,350 to The Viscardi Center in Albertson, New York, to manage and operate the National Employer Policy, Research and Technical Assistance Center on the Employment of People with Disabilities.

The center will be a resource to assist employers with recruiting, hiring, retaining and promoting people with disabilities by:

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $2 million competitive solicitation for a project to strengthen the capacity of Peru's labor inspectorate.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced a proposed regulation that would require electronic filing of "top hat" plan statements, and apprenticeship and training plan notices.

DECATUR, Ga. — Plaid Enterprises Inc. was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for six safety violations that involved amputation, electrical and other safety hazards following an April 2014 inspection at the company's craft paint production facility located on Mellon Court in Decatur. OSHA initiated the inspection in response to a complaint. Proposed penalties total $84,500.

HILLSIDE, Ill. — A complaint investigation found that Transport Tech LLC failed to provide employees with an effective training program, including information on appropriate handling and safe use of hazardous chemicals at its Hillside repair facility. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the company for five repeat safety violations, carrying proposed penalties of $66,400.

FULTON, Miss. — A Graham Lumber Co. employee was killed after he became entangled in a conveyor belt at the company's lumber mill in Fulton. The worker, employed at the company for less than two weeks, was cleaning up sawdust and bark around an unguarded conveyor when the entanglement occurred. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Graham Lumber for one willful and one serious safety violation following the April 2014 fatality.

KEARNY, N.J. — While applying brick to the exterior of a new residential construction site located at 33 Emerald Road in Robbinsville, workers employed by Y.V. General Construction Corp. based in Kearny were exposed to scaffold and fall hazards. After the U.S.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced $2,007,322 in grants to Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York, and Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee, as part of the Pathways to Careers: Community Colleges for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities Demonstration Project.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule that reduces reporting requirements for federal contractors and subcontractors who hire and employ veterans under provisions of the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974.

Date of Action:  Sept. 22, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Judgment

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Nohl Crest Homes Corp., Kenneth R. Emery, Peter G. Tibma, and Nohl Crest Homes Corp. Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Jose Fernandez, Third Party Defendant

BLAINE, Kan. — Following the death of two workers from the collapse of a cell tower they were dismantling March 25, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Wireless Horizon Inc. for two willful and four serious safety violations. OSHA placed the company in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program following the incident. So far in 2014, 11 workers have lost their lives nationwide in the communication tower industry; and 13 deaths occurred in 2013.

HOLDREGE, Neb. — Two workers were injured, one fatally, after being struck-by an excavator bucket while installing stormwater drainage in a trench at the intersection of 18th and Grant Streets in Holdrege on July 17, 2014. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Van Kirk Sand and Gravel, which operates as Van Kirk Brothers Contracting, for two serious safety violations related to the incident.

WICHITA, Kan. — Stericycle Inc. has been found in violation of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. An investigation found the company wrongfully terminated a transportation supervisor at its Wichita terminal because the worker raised safety concerns after a driver was instructed to pull a trailer without a valid license plate.

CHICAGO — The agriculture sector accounted for 479 deaths in 2013. With a fatality rate of 22.2 for every 100,000 full-time workers, agriculture recorded the highest fatality rate of any industry sector. Additionally, more than 49,000 injuries were recorded in 2012, the last year for which statistics were available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Agriculture employs more than 2 million people in the United States.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about Eric Holder's announcement of his resignation as Attorney General of the United States:

"Eric Holder is a man of extraordinary conscience and competence. It was a unique honor to serve with him at the Justice Department, and I am enormously grateful for his unwavering commitment to the cause of civil rights and to reinvigorating the Civil Rights Division in particular.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today awarded $1 million through its Brookwood-Sago grants program to seven organizations that provide education and training within the mining industry. The funding will be used to develop and implement training and related materials for mine emergency preparedness, as well as for the prevention of accidents in all underground mines.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration put Star Mine Operations LLC's Revenue Mine in Ouray County, Colorado, on notice today of a pattern of violations of mandatory health or safety standards under Section 104(e) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. Revenue is an underground silver ore operation.