March 11, 2021

OSHA cites Chicago container shipping company after employee suffers leg amputation, crushed pelvis when run over by powered industrial vehicle

CHICAGO – Working at a Chicago shipping facility, an employee suffered a leg amputation and crushed pelvis after he fell off and was then run over by a powered heavy-lift vehicle used to move and stack steel containers. The 30-year-old recent hire suffered injuries after being allowed to ride unsecured on the vehicle.

March 11, 2021

US Department of Labor announces proposals to rescind two rules that undermine worker protections against unfair pay practices

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today announced proposals to rescind two final rules that would significantly weaken protections afforded to American workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

March 11, 2021

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending March 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 712,000, a decrease of 42,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 9,000 from 745,000 to 754,000. The 4-week moving average was 759,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,250 from 790,750 to 793,000.

March 10, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $102K in back wages for 11 Tampa restaurant workers after investigation uncovers overtime violations

TAMPA, FL A Tampa restaurant enterprise has paid $102,894 in back wages to 11 workers after a federal investigation found the employer illegally denied them overtime pay.

March 10, 2021

US Department of Labor orders one of the nation’s largest railway companies to pay more than $290K in damages, reinstate whistleblower

FORT WORTH, TX – An employee of one of the nation’s largest North American freight railroad networks will receive more than $290,000 in back pay, damages and fees, and be reinstated to their job after the U.S. Department of Labor found the worker’s rights were violated under the Federal Railroad Safety Act.

March 10, 2021

US Department of Labor issues stronger mine safety guidance on coronavirus

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor issued today stronger worker safety guidance to help mine operators and mine workers implement a coronavirus protection program and better identify risks that could lead to exposure.

March 9, 2021

Orlando landscaper to pay $48K in back wages to employees after US Department of Labor finds overtime violations

ORLANDO, FL An Orlando landscaping employer will pay $48,978 in back wages to 39 workers after a federal investigation found the employer paid employees illegally for the hours that they worked.

March 8, 2021

La campaña de educación y cumplimiento del Departamento de Trabajo de los EE. UU. busca aumentar el cumplimiento de las leyes por parte del sector agrícola del sureste

ATLANTA - La División de Horas y Salarios del Departamento de Trabajo de los EE. UU. está llevando a cabo una iniciativa de educación y cumplimiento de las leyes laborales federales en el sector agrícola del sureste de los Estados Unidos de América. Además de actividades relacionadas con el cumplimiento de las leyes, la iniciativa ofrece ayuda a empleadores respecto de este tema e instruye a trabajadores y a otras partes interesadas.

March 8, 2021

US Department of Labor education, enforcement campaign seeks to increase Southeast agricultural industry’s compliance

ATLANTA The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is currently engaged in an education and enforcement initiative to increase compliance with federal labor laws in the Southeast’s agricultural industry. In addition to enforcement activity, the initiative provides compliance assistance to employers and educates workers and other stakeholders.

March 8, 2021

US Department of Labor again cites Oklahoma construction contractor for exposing workers to serious trenching, excavation hazards

OKLAHOMA CITY – Excavation work is among the most dangerous in the construction industry. Trenches can collapse around and atop workers, crushing and burying them quickly and sometimes fatally – which has long made trench and excavation protection a vital concern for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

March 5, 2021

Nashua restaurants pay more than $108K in back wages to 17 workers after US Department of Labor finds overtime, minimum wage violations

MANCHESTER, NH – Two Nashua restaurants learned that paying flat salaries to its workers doesn’t waive their responsibility to pay overtime when those employees work more than 40 hours in a workweek. Doing so violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, and resulted in the back wages found due in a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation.

March 5, 2021

Sanibel Island restaurant pays $222K in back wages to 48 workers after US Department of Labor finds wage violations

SANIBEL, FL Restaurant workers such as servers and bartenders depend on tips to supplement their low hourly wages, so when a Sanibel Island eatery required its workers to contribute to an unlawful tip pool, the restaurant made it even harder for them to make ends meet.

An investigation of Island Cow Inc. by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $222,432 in back wages for 48 workers.

March 5, 2021

Florida stable pays $137K in back wages, penalties after US Department of Labor investigation finds H-2B guest worker violations

OCALA, FL – A consent order issued by an administrative law judge in the U.S. Department of Labor has allowed the department’s Wage and Hour Division to recover $81,139 in back wages for 29 foreign workers brought to Florida for employment under the federal H-2B guest worker visa program.

March 4, 2021

US Department of Labor recovers $46K in back wages for 45 employees after investigation finds overtime violations at Mississippi staffing agency

PASCAGOULA, MS A Pascagoula, Mississippi, staffing agency for the marine and shipbuilding industries has paid $46,372 in back wages to 45 employees to resolve overtime and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act found in a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation.

March 4, 2021

Philadelphia home health care agency pays $2.1M in back wages to more than 450 workers denied overtime pay for two years

PHILADELPHIA  Every day, seniors and people with disabilities rely on home health care workers for vital services. While the demand for these skilled employees is high, wages remain low. So when a Philadelphia home health care agency failed to pay millions in overtime wages to its workers, the impact hit more than 450 workers hard as they struggled to make ends meet.

March 4, 2021

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending February 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 745,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 6,000 from 730,000 to 736,000. The 4-week moving average was 790,750, a decrease of 16,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 250 from 807,750 to 807,500.

March 3, 2021

US Department of Labor seeks Idaho’s building, heavy construction industries’ input for wage survey to establish accurate prevailing wage rates

BOISE, ID – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is asking businesses in Idaho’s building and heavy construction industries to complete a survey to help the agency establish prevailing wage rates, as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. Not limited to federally funded construction projects, the survey includes active building and heavy construction projects in all metropolitan counties in Idaho between Jan.

March 3, 2021

OSHA cites BEF Foods Inc.’s Lima facility after production worker suffers partial arm amputation from cleaning auger

LIMA, OH – While cleaning an auger used to rice potatoes, a 39-year-old production worker found her left arm caught in a running auger. The worker suffered multiple lacerations and the partial amputation of her arm. Co-workers had to cut the auger apart to free her arm.  

March 3, 2021

Federal court orders Christian Home Healthcare to pay more than 500 workers $1.6M in back wages, damages

PITTSBURGH – A U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh has issued a consent order requiring the payment of more than $1.6 million in back wages and damages to 546 home health aides.