January 18, 2017

San Jose fire protection company pays workers $1.3M in back wages, damages after failing to pay for time employees spent on the job

Employer: Cintas Fire Protection Services

Sites: 2188 Del Franco St., #70
San Jose, California

January 18, 2017

Green Bay manufacturer faces more than $219K in proposed penalties after two workers suffer severe injuries within 10 days

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In less than 10 days in 2016, two employees at a Green Bay muffler component manufacturer suffered severe injuries as they operated machinery without adequate safety guards and procedures in place, federal workplace safety investigators have determined.

January 18, 2017

Hundreds of employees at 9 New York City hotels to receive $550K in back wages, damages after US Labor Department investigation

NEW YORK – A hotel management company and the company which supplied employees to nine of its New York City hotels have agreed to resolve an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that found violations of the minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

January 18, 2017

OSHA orders Amtrak to reinstate, pay $892K to employee discharged in violation of Federal Railroad Safety Act

BOSTON – The National Railroad Passenger Corp., better known as Amtrak, retaliated against a supervisory special agent in its inspector general’s office when he raised concerns about railroad safety, fraud and abuse involving an Amtrak contractor and when he supported a fellow agent’s safety concerns during an internal investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

January 18, 2017

US Labor Department awards funding to support recovery efforts after October 2016’s severe storms, flooding in central Pennsylvania

State: Pennsylvania

Type of Award: National Dislocated Worker Grant

Award Amount Approved/Released: $238,049

Funding Awarded to: Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry

Number of Workers Served: Approximately 39

January 18, 2017

US Labor Department awards up to $5.8M to assist with clean-up, recovery efforts in Tennessee after wildfires in late 2016

State: Tennessee

Type of Award: National Dislocated Worker Grant

Award Amount Approved: $5,824,000

Initial Amount Released: $2,000,000

Funding Awarded to: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development

Number of Workers Served: Approximately 200

January 18, 2017

Mine Safety and Health Administration announces results of special impact inspections in December 2016

Who: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration

What: The Mine Safety and Health Administration announced federal inspectors issued 132 citations and two orders during special impact inspections conducted at 10 coal mines and five metal and nonmetal mines in December 2016.

Where: MSHA conducted special impact inspections at mines in Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

January 18, 2017

OSHA cites Ohio railroad parts manufacturer after follow-up inspection finds workers remain exposed to machine, fall hazards

COSHOCTON, Ohio – A follow-up inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found a casting and foundry facility operator continues to expose workers to machine and fall hazards at its Coshocton plant.

On Jan. 17, 2017, the agency issued SanCasT Inc. three repeated, and four serious safety violations carrying proposed penalties of $235,879. The agency cited the company for similar violations in both 2013 and 2014.

January 18, 2017

US Department of Labor sues Oracle America Inc. for discriminatory employment practices

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against Oracle America, Inc. alleging the leading technology company has a systemic practice of paying Caucasian male workers more than their counterparts in the same job title, which led to pay discrimination against female, African American and Asian employees.

January 18, 2017

US Labor Department sues JPMorgan Chase & Co. for discriminatory pay practices against female employees

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co., alleging that the financial institution systematically discriminated against female employees in certain professional positions by compensating them less than their male counterparts. The suit maintains that JPMorgan’s compensation policies and practices violated Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment on the basis of sex.

January 17, 2017

US Labor Department files lawsuit to recover employees’ contributions for participants in two Passages Hospice benefit plans

Date of Action: Jan. 17, 2017

Type of Action: Employee Retirement Income Security Act lawsuit

Names of Defendants: Sandor Szajkovics
Passages Hospice LLC
Passages Hospice LLC Dental Plan, Passages Hospice LLC Employee Benefits Plan

January 17, 2017

Final rule on working place examinations in metal, nonmetal mines strengthens existing safety standards

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today it will issue its Final Rule for Examination of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mines. The new rule will be published in the Federal Register on Jan. 23, 2017, and go into effect on May 23, 2017.

The final rule improves miner safety and health in three primary areas, requiring that:

January 17, 2017

OSHA proposes nearly $89K penalty after finding concrete manufacturer again exposed workers to airborne silica

Employer name: County Concrete Corp.                                 

Inspection site: 64 Glenwood Pl.
East Orange, New Jersey

January 17, 2017

OSHA fines Pennsylvania hospital $32K for exposing employees to workplace violence, other hazards

Employer name: BHC Northwest Psychiatric Hospital LLC, doing business as Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital

Inspection site: 7170 Lafayette Ave.
Fort Washington, Pennsylvania

Citations issued: On Jan. 11, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for four serious violations.

January 17, 2017

OSHA: Employee’s death at Bellingham auto parts business ‘preventable’

BRAINTREE, Mass. – A Bellingham used auto parts business’ failure to follow required workplace safety standards allowed an employee to suffer fatal head injuries, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

January 13, 2017

OSHA, Rocky Mountain Education Center renew alliance to support worker safety education throughout Colorado

Participants: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Denver and Englewood Area Offices and the Rocky Mountain Education Center located at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, Colorado.

January 13, 2017

Oklahoma truck bed manufacturer fined $535K for putting workers at risk, as OSHA inspectors identify 30 safety, health violations

KINGSTON, Okla. – A complaint of unsafe working conditions led U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors to discover the safety and health of employees at a well-known Oklahoma truck bed fabricator being placed at risk amid nearly two dozen safety and health violations.

January 13, 2017

US Labor Department awards $65M to help unemployed workers with job searches, maintain integrity of Unemployment Insurance program

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration today awarded $65 million to 52 state workforce agencies, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia, to operate Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment programs for unemployment insurance beneficiaries.

January 12, 2017

LexisNexis Risk Solutions to pay over $1.2M in back pay and interest to 211 employees after investigation finds pay discrimination

ATLANTA – LexisNexis Risk Solutions will pay over $1.2 million in back pay and interest and provide additional relief to resolve allegations of systemic pay discrimination against women at its facilities in Alpharetta, Georgia, and Boca Raton, Florida.

January 12, 2017

Masonry contractor continues to expose workers to fall hazards

CHICAGO, Ill. ‒ Federal safety inspectors saw seven employees of a Park Ridge contractor performing masonry work on a Chicago building at heights up to 40 feet without adequate fall protection and have issued citations to the company. The company committed similar violations in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015.