ALLEN PARK, MI – After a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation, Michigan-based automotive tire and service retail chain Belle Tire has agreed to pay $342,926 in back wages to 1,207 employees at 100 locations in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that the HIRE Vets Medallion Program Demonstration has reached its application goal, and the registration period is now closed. This November, the Department will recognize employers who qualified for the HIRE Vets Medallion Program Demonstration Award.

The program demonstration enabled up to 300 employers to apply and prepare those who registered for an account on the HIREVets.gov website.

BOYNTON BEACH, FL – Following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has sentenced Jeffrey Adedoyin Williams – an employee at a Florida addiction treatment center – to 12 months and one day in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment after Williams pleaded guilty to obstruction of a criminal healthcare investigation.

DALLAS, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Association of Energy Service Companies (AESC) have renewed an alliance designed to help protect oil and gas well servicing industry employees.

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – An education and enforcement initiative conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has recovered $2,079,596 in back wages and liquidated damages for 87 attendants working at 25 southern New Jersey gas stations since January 2017. This payment resolves violations found during a series of investigations by the WHD.

MOUNT HOPE, WV - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited West Virginia roofing contractor Master Roofers and Builders Inc. for exposing employees to fall, electrical, and other safety hazards as they installed a church roof in Mount Hope. OSHA has proposed penalties of $57,646.

BUFFALO, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited U-Haul Company of New York & Vermont, doing business as U-Haul Moving & Storage at Larkin District, for exposing its employees to asbestos and silica hazards while performing renovation work at its 665 Perry St. storage facility in Buffalo. The company faces $108,095 in proposed fines.

SYRACUSE, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Syracuse-based roofing contractor The Roofing Guys Inc. have reached a settlement to resolve citations and penalties issued by OSHA. This settlement resolves four separate citations for fall protection violations issued to the company in 2016 and 2017.

CHICAGO, IL – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the FBI has led to prison sentences for two former officials of Orlando, Florida-based First Farmers Financial LLC (FFF). The case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, resulted in guilty pleas by the pair for their involvement in the sale of $179 million in fraudulent loans to a Milwaukee company that provided investment services to 42 retirement plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

GUAYNABO, PR – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) continues to investigate wage issues on St. Croix and St. Thomas and provide compliance assistance related to recovery efforts following Hurricanes Maria and Irma.

TAMPA, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Jasper Contractors Inc. have reached a settlement that resolves a lawsuit filed under the anti-retaliation provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act. In the settlement, Jasper Contractors - headquartered in Kennesaw, Georgia, but performing roofing work in Florida - agreed to pay an employee $48,000 in back wages and compensatory damages.

WILKES-BARRE, PA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the owners of a chain of Pennsylvania bar and grill restaurants have paid $750,007 in back wages and liquidated damages. In a settlement agreement with the Department, Arooga’s Grille House and Sports Bar agreed to pay current and former servers, cooks, and assistant kitchen managers in York, Camp Hill, Lower Paxton, Mechanicsburg, Hanover and Harrisburg for minimum wages and overtime not paid to them over a 30-month period.

In the week ending April 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 209,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since December 6, 1969 when it was 202,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 232,000 to 233,000. The 4-week moving average was 229,250, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 231,250 to 231,500.

Read the full release.

FLAGSTAFF, AZ – Major League Painting Inc. will pay $242,618 in back wages and liquidated damages to 70 employees for violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor invites news organizations that wish to participate in press lock-ups to renew or request credentials. The new credentials will be valid beginning in August 2018.

CHICAGO, IL – Consistent with its mission to protect the American workforce, the U.S. Department of Labor has revoked Rock River Valley Self Help Enterprises, Inc.’s certificate under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) after finding nearly 250 workers with disabilities were being exploited.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today released a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) providing guidance to EBSA’s national and regional offices regarding proxy voting, shareholder engagement, and economically targeted investments by fiduciaries of private-sector employee benefit plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute’s Safety, Health, and Environment Services Group; and Georgia Department of Public Health’s Division of Health Protection have formed a two-year alliance to raise awareness about lead exposure.

XENIA, OH ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Rural King Supply Inc., a national farm supply company, for failing to maintain forklifts properly at its Xenia facility. The company faces proposed penalties of $258,672.

OSHA responded to complaints that Rural King Supply Inc. allowed employees to operate a damaged forklift, despite employees’ reports of faulty brakes. OSHA investigators determined that the company failed to take the forklift out of service, or perform needed repairs.

LOS ANGELES, CA – The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has entered a consent judgment ordering Information Networking Company Inc., and its president John Benjamin Riddle, to restore $47,408 to the company’s employee benefit plan.

The judgment resolves a January 2018 lawsuit in which the U.S. Department of Labor alleged the defendants failed to remit employee contributions, collect matching employer contributions, and defaulted on a prior settlement agreement with the Department to restore funds owed to the plan.