May 5, 2016

Elizabeth contractor again exposes workers to dangerous risk of falls, OSHA finds at downtown Jersey City build site

Employer name: Cajamarca Construction Corp., 36 Prospect Street, Apt. 2F, Elizabeth, New Jersey

Inspection site: Residential construction project at 259 Halladay St., Jersey City, New Jersey

May 5, 2016

Excavation company again exposes workers to the dangers of trench cave-ins while installing water line at Chicago home

Employer name: OG Plumbing LLC, 400 N. Ada St., Chicago

Inspection site: 1632 N. Western Ave., Chicago

Citations issued: April 25, 2016

May 5, 2016

CSX Transportation Inc. retaliated against employee at Selkirk, New York facility who reported safety concerns, OSHA investigation finds

NEW YORK –  CSX Transportation Inc. violated the anti-retaliation provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act when it suspended an employee at its Selkirk locomotive shop after he notified management of numerous alleged safety hazards and FRSA violations, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

May 5, 2016

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending April 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 274,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 257,000. The 4-week moving average was 258,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 256,000.

May 4, 2016

Guam construction contractor pays $367K in overtime back wages, damages to 158 employees after US Labor Department investigation

Employer: Guadencio C. Gozum, doing business as G.C. Gozum Construction

Site: 164 Torres St., Mong Mong, Guam 96910

May 4, 2016

Insulation manufacturer exposed workers to combustible dust, other safety hazards at Wilkes-Barre plant; OSHA proposes $66K penalty

Employer name: US GreenFiber LLC

Inspection site: 1 Passan Drive, Building 2, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one willful, four serious, and two other-than-serious citations on April 28, 2016.

May 4, 2016

US Postal Service continues to expose workers at Virginia center to powered industrial equipment hazards; faces $120K in fines

Employer name: U.S. Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center

Inspection site: 5801 Technology Blvd., Sandston, Virginia

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one other-than-serious, and four repeat citations on April 26, 2016.

May 4, 2016

OSHA finds absence of proper safety guards led to amputation of 21-year-old worker’s six fingers at South Elgin metal manufacturer

SOUTH ELGIN, Ill. ‒ The amputation a 21-year-old temporary worker’s six fingers was preventable if his South Elgin employer had installed proper safety guards to keep the operator’s hands out of the metal press’ danger zone, federal inspectors found.

May 4, 2016

OSHA finds lack of machine safety procedures led to amputation of 23-year-old worker’s three finger tips at Wisconsin cardboard manufacturer

ARCADIA, Wis. ‒ Federal safety investigators have determined the amputation of a 23-year-old worker’s three fingertips was preventable if an Arcadia corrugated cardboard manufacturer had trained workers in proper safety procedures to prevent the chopping blade from operating while clearing a jam.

May 3, 2016

Cincinnati Days Inn pays 6 workers more than $21k in unpaid overtime wages

Date of Action: April 14, 2016

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act consent judgment

Defendant: Gavri LLC doing business as Days Inn, 4056 Mt. Carmel Tobasco Rd., Cincinnati
Sandhya “Lina” Patel

May 3, 2016

Essroc Cement Corp. faces $92K in federal fines for exposing workers to machine, noise and respiratory hazards at its Ohio facility

Employer name: Essroc Cement Corporation, Nazareth, Pennsylvania

Inspection site: 8282 Middlebranch Ave. NE, Middlebranch, Ohio

Citations issued: May 2, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Cleveland Area Office cited Essroc Cement Corporation for one repeated and 10 serious safety and health violations.

May 3, 2016

Judge orders Silicon Valley tech company to pay workers more than $160K in back minimum wage, overtime back pay and damages

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal court has entered a consent judgment that orders a Silicon Valley electronics manufacturer to pay more than $80,000 in minimum wage and overtime back pay and an equal, additional amount in damages to its workers after the U.S. Department of Labor discovered violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  

Nearly $8,000 in civil money penalties were also assessed against the employer.

May 3, 2016

Mansfield employer exposes workers to machine, electrical hazards

Employer name: Edge Plastics Inc., 449 Newman St., Mansfield, Ohio                                 

Citations issued: April 25, 2016

May 3, 2016

US Department of Labor announces $1M grant to help Massachusetts workers affected by 2015 layoffs in Lowell, Westford prepare for new jobs

State: Massachusetts

Type of Award: National Dislocated Worker Grant

Award Amount Approved/Released: $1,040,264

Funding Awarded to: Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development

Number of Workers Served: Approximately 110

May 3, 2016

Worker’s fall from Newton rooftop could have been prevented: OSHA

ANDOVER, Mass. – Two employees of Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning and General Contracting of Massachusetts were doing their job atop a roof at 19 Columbus St. in Newton on Nov. 29, 2015, when one of them fell. He initially a hit a lower roof 11 feet below then fell another 15 feet to the ground and was injured. An inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that his fall was preventable if his employer ensured the use of proper and effective safeguards.

May 2, 2016

OSHA cites residential facility for exposing employees to workplace violence

Employer name: Integrated Life Choices Inc.
Lincoln, Nebraska

Citations issued: April 29, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one serious and one other than serious violations to the residential health care facility for exposing employees to hazards related to workplace violence.

May 2, 2016

OSHA cites Georgia Power, wiring subcontractor after arc flash severely burns worker at the Plant Bowen facility; proposes $122K in fines

Employer’s names: Georgia Power Co.
ABB Inc.

Inspection site: 317 Covered Bridge Road, Cartersville, Georgia 30120

Citations issued: Citations were issued to the employers on April 26.

May 2, 2016

Labor Department files suit to appoint independent fiduciary to distribute profit-sharing plan assets of defunct New Jersey health food supplier

Date of Action: April 26, 2016

Name(s) of Defendants: Island Organics Profit-Sharing Plan
Bank of America

Allegations:  An investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration found the fiduciary of a profit-sharing plan of now-defunct Quality Botanical Ingredients Inc. failed to terminate the plan formally when the company ceased all business operations in December 2002.

May 2, 2016

US Department of Labor announces $3.1M to help Texas recovery, clean-up after March 2016 storms, flooding in Jasper, Newton and Orange counties

State: Texas

Type of Award: National Dislocated Worker Grant

Award Amount Approved/Released: $3,161,095

Funding Awarded to: The Texas Workforce Commission

Number of Workers Served: Approximately 160

May 2, 2016

Deer Park construction contractor to pay $682K in back wages to 161 workers after US Labor Department investigation

Employer: Allied Foundation Specialists Inc.

Site: 4906 Luella Ave., Deer Park, Texas

Investigation Findings: A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation found Allied Foundation Specialists Inc. violated the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.