DETROIT, MI – The City of Detroit, Michigan, has created a total of five lactation stations and amended its break policy to accommodate nursing employees’ needs to express and store milk during the workday. The policy changes follow an investigation by the U.S.

LAKEWOOD, CO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Vforge Inc. – based in Lakewood, Colorado – for machine safety hazards after an employee suffered fatal injuries while working on a forging machine. The company faces proposed penalties of $225,046.

KANSAS CITY, MO ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched a new program to address hazards from exposure to fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate (FGAN) and agricultural anhydrous ammonium.

WHITE PLAINS, NY – The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has entered a consent judgment requiring Hudson View Care Center Inc. - doing business as Regency Extended Care Center - and owner Michael Melnicke to pay $182,500 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 81 employees, plus $20,000 in civil penalties. The judgment follows an investigation by the U.S.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM), Civil Rights Center (CRC), will publish in tomorrow’s Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking as well as a Direct Final Rule that would rescind its regulations implementing the nondiscrimination and equal opportunity provisions in Section 167 of the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982, as amended (JTPA). CRC proposed the rescission because the regulations concern programs that are no longer operative.

PHOENIX, AZ – Insearch Corp. – based in Tempe, Arizona – will pay $64,584 to 73 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the transportation company violated minimum wage, overtime, and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

GUAYNABO, P.R. – In the year since hurricanes Irma and Maria struck Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has recovered $14,337,657 in unpaid wages for 7,761 employees engaged in recovery work in those territories. WHD has also undertaken significant outreach activities to educate employers and employees about compliance with federal wage laws, as part of its ongoing hurricane response efforts.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced nearly $110 million in Trade and Economic Transition Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) for state, tribal, and non-profit entities that are working in collaboration with community partners and local Workforce Development Boards to prepare Americans for professions in high-growth employment sectors.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Industry Liaison Group (NILG) to support contractor education and training; enable proactive compliance with OFCCP's regulations; and minimize, to the extent feasible, the cost of compliance by contractors.  

SANDUSKY, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Cedar Fair LP – which operates as Cedar Point – for failing to protect workers from fall hazards after an employee suffered serious injuries at its Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park. The company faces proposed penalties of $142,270 for one willful and one serious safety violation, the maximum penalties allowed under the law.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant (DWG) to the North Carolina Department of Commerce to assess workforce needs in response to Hurricane Florence.

MONTGOMERY, AL – Ozark Safety Services LLC – based in Montgomery, Alabama – has paid a former employee $10,095 in lost wages after a U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the company violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

WHD investigators found Ozark Safety Services LLC discharged the employee for absences that qualified for FMLA-protected leave. Rather than categorizing the absences as allowed and covered under the FMLA, the company labeled them as unauthorized, and took improper disciplinary action.

OPELIKA, AL – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has resulted in the Opelika, Alabama, Police Department paying $56,681 in back wages to seven officers for violations of overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

SAN ANTONIO, TX – Today, U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta delivered the keynote address at the Texas Workforce Commission's 2nd Annual ApprenticeshipTexas Conference in San Antonio, Texas.  Secretary Acosta spoke on the Trump Administration's efforts to expand apprenticeships across all industries.

"I want to thank Commissioner Alvarez and the Texas Workforce Commission for the great work that is being done to expand apprenticeships in the Lone Star State," said Secretary Acosta.

ELLWOOD CITY, PA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Boehm Family Enterprises LLC – doing business as McElwain Brothers Paint and Collision in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania – has paid $33,731 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to 12 mechanics and painters to resolve violations of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

GAHANNA, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Rocky Fork Hunt and Country Club – located in Gahanna, Ohio – for failing to protect employees from rollover hazards after a worker suffered fatal injuries when the lawnmower he was operating tipped over.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced two directives focused on providing more transparency in OFCCP activities as an essential tool for promoting compliance. These directives, which continue the goals of the Department's recently announced Office of Compliance Initiatives (OCI), encourage and facilitate fair and transparent OFCCP compliance evaluations, and OFCCP efficiency and consistency:

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today released two reports that shine a spotlight on child labor and forced labor in nations around the world: the eighth edition of the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor and the 17th annual edition of the Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor.

In the week ending September 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 201,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 204,000. This is the lowest level for initial claims since November 15, 1969 when it was 197,000. The 4-week moving average was 205,750, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 208,000. This is the lowest level for this average since December 6, 1969 when it was 204,500.

BRIDGEPORT, CT – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited L.L.E. Construction LLC for exposing employees to fall and other hazards at a construction worksite in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The company faces $146,554 in proposed penalties.