WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of three Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) totaling $6,268,512 to help address the workforce-related impacts of the coronavirus. Funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which provided $345 million for DWGs to prevent, prepare for and respond to the coronavirus. This latest award follows six previous waves of funding, bringing the total amount awarded to states and territories to $245,249,950.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $6,225,000 in grants to seven organizations for demonstration projects to provide work-based job training for low-income, unemployed older Americans as part of the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP).

LODI, WI – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Furst-McNess Corp. – based in Lodi, Wisconsin – for exposing employees to potential grain dust explosions and other hazards at the feed mill facility. OSHA cited the company for one willful and two serious violations and faces $148,431 in penalties.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that “Increasing Access and Opportunity” is the 2020 theme for October’s annual observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM).

This year is the nation’s 75th observance of NDEAM, which is administered by the Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). The observance culminates the Department’s commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it is proposing a new exemption for investment advice fiduciaries. The Department’s actions today will benefit American workers and retirees by delivering more choices for their financial future with clear standards to be upheld by investment advice providers. The proposed exemption will be published in the Federal Register for notice and comment in the near future. 

ATLANTA, GA – On June 5, 2020, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered coercive sanctions against the owner of two Jacksonville, Florida-based contractors after finding them in contempt of court for failing to pay $2,202,049 in penalties assessed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for safety and health violations at Florida worksites.

CHARLOTTE, NC – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the Transit Management of Charlotte Inc. – operating as Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) – has reinstated and paid one employee $21,998 in back wages for violating requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

ST. LOUIS, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Unnerstall Contracting Company LLC for violations of OSHA’s trenching and excavation standards after an employee suffered severe injuries when a 20-foot trench collapsed during excavation of Creve Coeur Sanitary Sewer Trunk in Creve Coeur, Missouri. OSHA cited the Pacific, Missouri-based company for three willful and four serious violations, and faces penalties of $224,459.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an interim final rule providing regulations necessary to implement and administer the high-wage components of the Labor Value Content (LVC) requirements set forth in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the treaty’s implementing statute.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the IRS, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) are presenting a webinar on paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) for employers and business owners.

BOSTON, MA – After the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) initiated a compliance action, Consumer Medical – based in Norwell, Massachusetts – has paid an employee $3,076 in back wages to resolve violations of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor took a range of actions to aid American workers and employers as our nation combats the coronavirus pandemic.

Reopening America’s Economy:

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will hire 55 additional investigators and eight additional technicians to support its efforts to assist employers and ensure compliance with federal requirements.

BOCA RATON, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Action Roofing Services, Inc. – based in Pompano Beach, Florida – for exposing employees to fall hazards at a worksite in Boca Raton, Florida. The roofing contractor faces $51,952 in penalties.

DALLAS, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor and Cellco Partnership – doing business as Verizon Wireless, Verizon Business Network Services Inc. and Verizon Corporate Resources Group LLC, all entities under Verizon Communications Inc. (Verizon) – has entered into an Early Resolution Conciliation Agreement to resolve allegations of racial and gender-based hiring discrimination at facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

ORLANDO, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Santos Burgos Corp. – operating as Guavate Restaurant in Orlando, Florida – has paid $30,878 in back wages to 42 employees for violating the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

PHOENIX, AZ – After a review by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Shamrock Foods Company – a food products and services company based in Phoenix, Arizona – has agreed to pay $858,492 in lost wages, benefits, and interest to resolve allegations of discrimination against female, African American and white applicants at its facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, and Eastvale, California.

KATY, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Zoom X Inc. – a delivery service contractor based in Katy, Texas – has paid $1,700 in back wages to an employee for wrongly denying paid sick leave for a qualifying reason covered under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

ONAWA, IA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Kastim Corp. – operator of a McDonald’s franchise in Onawa, Iowa – has paid an employee $573 in back wages for wrongly denying the worker’s request for paid leave to care for children due to school closures related to the coronavirus pandemic.

WASHINGTON, DC – With school and summer activity schedules greatly altered as America continues to re-open in the wake of the coronavirus, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) today issued two Field Assistance Bulletins to clarify issues relevant to the pandemic’s effects on the workplace.

The bulletins issued today specifically address the following: