DENVER, CO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited four employers – Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Energes Services LLC, Dominguez Welding LLC, and Unlimited Services LLC – for exposing employees to health and safety hazards at an oil and gas tank battery construction project where one employee was killed in an explosion and fire and three others suffered third-degree burns. The companies face $70,711 in proposed penalties.

SYRACUSE, NY – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Marshall Ingredients LLC for failing to protect employees against amputations and other hazards at its Wolcott facility. The food ingredients manufacturer and distributor faces $300,062 in proposed penalties.

In the week ending January 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 233,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 4,000 from 220,000 to 216,000. The 4-week moving average was 240,000, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 1,000 from 244,500 to 243,500.

GAINESVILLE, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Koch Foods of Gainesville LLC for multiple safety and health violations at its poultry processing plant. The company faces proposed penalties of $208,977.

SOCIAL CIRCLE, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued seven serious citations against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. for exposing its employees to burn, hazardous energy, amputation, and caught-in safety hazards. The company faces proposed penalties of $69,058.

NEW LENOX, IL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Supplyside USA, a New Lenox-based pallet manufacturer, for machine safety violations after an employee was injured while conducting maintenance on equipment. The company faces $91,832 in proposed penalties for two repeated, six serious, and three other-than-serious violations.

PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Action Concrete Construction Inc. for exposing its employees to fall hazards and eye injuries. The company faces proposed penalties of $59,864.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Three Santa Rosa area restaurants have reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor to pay 28 employees $147,954 in back wages, and an equal amount in liquidated damages, to resolve federal wage violations. The employer will also pay $15,115 in penalties.

DETROIT, MI – The U.S. Department of Labor and a Detroit security company have reached an agreement to resolve overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including payment of $33,534 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – totaling $67,068– owed to 25 security guards.

The Department’s Wage and Hour Division found Eagle Security Services failed to comply with the FLSA’s overtime and recording-keeping provisions.

MARIETTA, GA – A residential concrete design and installation company will pay $179,314 in back wages to 37 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found Marietta-based TCB Grading Inc. violated the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Wage and Hour Division investigators found that TCB Grading Inc. paid employees straight-time, instead of the required time-and-one-half, for hours they worked beyond 40 in a workweek. The employer also failed to maintain accurate time and payroll records.

WEST COVINA, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor and a Fontana pallet manufacturing company have reached an agreement to resolve overtime and recordkeeping violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The agreement requires Forest Green Products Inc. to pay $289,215 in back wages and liquidated damages to 60 employees.

Investigators with the Department’s Wage and Hour Division found that Forest Green Products Inc. failed to pay required overtime rates when its employees worked more than 40 hours per week.

SEATTLE, WA – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement with a Washington tree fruit grower to resolve violations of the H-2A non-immigrant visa program under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The settlement requires Tonasket-based Northwestern LLC to pay $60,000 in back wages to 112 employees, and an additional $18,000 in penalties to the Department.

HARTFORD, CT – The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut has entered a consent judgment and ordered a Fairfield restaurant and its owner to pay $244,930 in back wages and liquidated damages to eight employees, as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

BUFFALO, NY – On Jan. 20, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will participate in a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Service Corps of Retired Executives’ (SCORE) event to provide information and resources to entrepreneurs and small business owners on starting or growing a small business. 

The “Straight Talk 2018” seminar, sponsored by the SBA’s Buffalo District Office and SCORE’s Buffalo Niagara chapter, will be held at Buffalo Niagara Convention Center, Convention Center Plaza, in Buffalo, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta issued the following statement today regarding President Trump’s remarks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on tax reform legislation he signed into law last month:

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the launch of the HIRE Vets Medallion Program Demonstration — an effort that will recognize up to 300 employers for their investments in recruiting, employing, and retaining our nation’s veterans.

In the week ending January 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 220,000, a decrease of 41,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 261,000. This is the lowest level for initial claims since February 24, 1973 when it was 218,000. The 4-week moving average was 244,500, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 250,750.

VIDALIA, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will host free compliance assistance seminars for Georgia agricultural employers and farm labor contractors to promote compliance with the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) and the labor provisions of the H-2A temporary worker program.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta issued the following statement regarding Martin Luther King, Jr., Day:

“Today, we honor the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his historic efforts to advance the fundamental American ideals of liberty and justice for all. As the Department of Labor observes Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, we remember Dr. King’s words: ‘Whatever your life’s work is, do it well.’” 

CHICAGO, IL – Following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a judgment requiring Michael Lewis, former president of Acme Orthotics and Prosthetic Laboratories Inc., to restore $128,535.75 in losses owed to the company’s Profit Sharing 401(k) Plan and Trust (“Plan”).