Employer name: KWS Manufacturing Company Ltd.

Inspection site: 3041 Conveyor Drive, Burleson, Texas 76028

Citations issued: July 28, 2016

ARLINGTON, Va. – Exactly two years after its landmark rule aimed at preventing black lung disease took effect, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration today begins implementing provisions of the third – and final – phase of the rule.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The largest parking operator in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area has entered into a conciliation agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to resolve allegations of race-based hiring and pay discrimination.

SUPERIOR, Wis. –  Federal health inspectors found Fraser Shipyards Inc. overexposed workers to lead during the retrofitting of a ship’s engine room. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s sampling results determined 14 workers had lead levels up to 20 times the exposure limit. The agency also found workers exposed to other heavy metals.

HARTFORD, Conn. – Federal workplace safety and health inspectors cited an Uncasville manufacturer that makes tachometers and speed-measuring devices for 11 serious violations, including obvious amputation, crushing, and electrical hazards.

Employer name: Bluebonnet Foods, L.P. doing business as GoodHeart Specialty Foods Co.

Location: 11122 Nacogdoches Road, San Antonio, Texas 78217

Date citations issued: July 28, 2016

Date of Action: July 26, 2016

Name(s) of Defendants: Donald Kann, Kann & Associates, Inc. doing business as Kann Partners, and Kann & Associates Inc., Kann Partners 401(k) plan.

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration led the secretary of labor to file a complaint which alleges the defendants:

PALATINE, Ill. – Federal safety inspectors found a suburban Chicago electroplating company continues to put its employees in danger of serious injuries by failing to install adequate machine safety guards, train workers in machine safety procedures and correct electrical deficiencies in the plant – all violations for which inspectors cited the Arlington Plating Company in 2013.

Employer name: Oscar Renda Contracting Inc.

Inspection site: Subdivision on Shepherd Street, Houston, Texas

Citations issued: July 28, 2016

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
U.S. Forest Service

NEW YORK – Federal workplace safety and health inspectors have cited two Queens construction companies a total of $117,170 for exposing workers to fall, fire and electrical hazards while rehabilitating three adjoining buildings at 223 Grand St. in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

Date of Action: July 26, 2016

Type of Action: Consent judgment and order

Defendant: Horizon NR LLC, Lance Sogan, Horizon NR Employee Savings Plan and Trust

Employer name: Great Southern Peanut LLC

Inspection site: 132 5^th St., Leesburg, Georgia 31763

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on July 25 for 13 repeated, four serious and four other-than-serious safety and health violations.

In the week ending July 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 266,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 253,000 to 252,000. The 4-week moving average was 256,500, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 250 from 257,750 to 257,500.

WASHINGTON – As part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s historic investments in the ApprenticeshipUSA initiative, the department’s Employment and Training Administration announced it is seeking to award three to five contracts to workforce intermediaries, including community-based organizations; labor organizations; or workforce, industry and education organizations to develop national or regional “opportunity partnerships.”

CLEVELAND, Ohio – A federal workplace safety and health inspection found an Ohio stone fabricator again exposed to workers the risks of hearing loss and respiratory damage, the same dangers found at the facility in 2012.

Employer name: Scapa North America LLC, 111 Great Pond Drive, Windsor, Connecticut.

What prompted OSHA’s inspection: The Hartford Area Office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration began an inspection of the adhesive tape manufacturer on Jan. 14, 2016, after employees complained of serious electrical hazards.

Who: U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration

What: The Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today that federal inspectors issued 114 citations and four orders during special impact inspections conducted at 11 coal mines and six metal and nonmetal mines in June.

Where: MSHA conducted special impact inspections at mines in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

State: Kentucky

Type of Award: National Dislocated Worker Grant

Initial Amount Approved: $7,494,017

Incremental Amount Awarded: $2,550,000

Funding Awarded to: Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Programs, Inc.

Number of Workers Served: Approximately 685

WASHINGTON – In an important step forward to help workers – especially low-wage workers – adapt to the changing nature of America’s workplace, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of approximately $100,000 in funding through the new Portable Retirement Benefits Planning grant program.