November 19, 2015

WHD News Release: Nursing home staffing agency ordered to pay more than $636K in back wages to at least 150 direct care staff at 10 New Jersey nursing homes [11/19/2015]

HACKENSACK, N.J. — A federal judge has ordered Broadway Healthcare Management LLC and its owner, Michael Konig, to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in denied overtime pay plus an additional amount in interest to at least 150 direct care staff who worked at 10 nursing homes throughout New Jersey.

November 19, 2015

OWCP News Release: US Labor Department proposes rule to update implementation of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act [11/19/2015]

WASHINGTON — A proposed rule could improve the U.S. Department of Labor's administration of a law governing workers' compensation for energy employees. Proposed by the department's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, the rule would amend regulations governing its administration of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. These regulations were last revised on Dec. 29, 2006.

November 19, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Three commercial real estate renovators willfully expose workers to asbestos in San Antonio; fines total $112,000 [11/19/2015]

Employers' names: FBZ Broadway LP, One Eighty Construction Inc. and Roscoe Properties Inc., all owned by Jason Berkowitz

Citations issued: Nov. 19, 2015

November 19, 2015

OSHA News Release: OSHA cites Baton Rouge, Louisiana, business in trench collapse that killed worker [11/19/2015]

BATON ROUGE, La. — As paramedics rescued a construction worker trapped under dirt from a trench collapse, his co-worker and friend, 24-year-old Isidro Martinez, was not as fortunate. Martinez, a husband and father, lost his life in the unprotected trench.

November 19, 2015

OFCCP News Release: US Labor Department recovers more than $1.8 million for employees and job applicants at G&K Services [11/19/2015]

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement with nine facilities of G&K Services, Inc., to remedy systemic hiring and pay discrimination violations identified in compliance evaluations initiated between 2011 and 2015. G&K Services has several federal contracts, which requires the company to adhere to nondiscrimination and affirmative action provisions under Executive Order 11246.

November 18, 2015

WHD News Brief: Phoenix foster care housing provider ordered to pay more than $186K in back wages to 98 workers wrongly classified as 'exempt' from overtime [11/18/2015]

Employer: Family Support Resources Inc.

Sites: 24 residential foster care housing sites throughout Phoenix metro area

November 18, 2015

OSHA News Release: Worker 'would not have died' in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, trench if employer had followed proper procedures, says OSHA [11/18/2015]

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — As Davide Nascimento worked on the installation of a sewer line in an excavation on Hazardville Road in Longmeadow on July 31, 2015, a portion of roadway above the excavation collapsed and broke a six-inch water main pipe. Water from the pipe filled the excavation rapidly, trapping Nascimento, 28, who drowned.

November 17, 2015

Judgment requires company president to restore losses to Kinetic Solutions ESOP Plan in White Bear Lake, Minnesota

Date of Action: Nov. 16, 2015

Type of Action: Consent Judgment

Name of Defendant: Paul Wax, Kinetic Solutions Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, Kansas City Regional Office, resulted in the department filing a suit in federal court alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 17, 2015

US Labor Department files suit seeking restoration of plan assets to health, welfare plan and retirement plan of union in Windsor Mill, Maryland

Date of Action: Nov. 16, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Ricardo Silva, Maryland Association of Correctional & Security Employees Inc., Charles Ezrine, State Employee Benefits Inc., AmeriGuard Security Services Inc., Maryland Association of Correctional & Security Employees Health & Welfare Plan, and Maryland Association of Correctional & Security Employees Retirement Plan

November 17, 2015

WHD News Brief: Florida Dept. of Corrections to pay 294 health care workers more than $723K in back wages after failing to pay overtime [11/17/2015]

Employer name: Florida Dept. of Corrections

Investigation site: Prison health units throughout the State of Florida

November 17, 2015

WHD News Release: MARTA repeatedly violated federal leave protections affecting more than 70 workers, US Labor Department finds [11/17/2015]

ATLANTA — For the second time, federal investigators have found the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority violated employees' rights to take unpaid, job-protected leave for a qualifying medical or family issue.

A follow-up investigation to one conducted in 2013 by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that the city's mass transit system, known as MARTA, violated its workers' rights to leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act — a law since 1993.

November 17, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA issues notices to Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center for exposing workers to an unsafe workplace [11/17/2015]

Employer name: The Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1201 Broad Rock Blvd. in Richmond, Virginia.

Notices issued: On Nov. 6, 2015, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued notices to the medical center after identifying four willful, two serious, and eight other-than-serious safety violations.

November 17, 2015

ETA News Brief: California to receive $6M in incremental funding to continue temporary employment services to workers affected by California drought [11/17/2015]

State: California

Type of Award: National Dislocated Worker Grant incremental

Incremental Amount Released: $6 million

Total Award Amount Approved: $18 million

Funding Awarded to: California Employment Development Department

Number of Workers Served: Approximately 1,000

November 17, 2015

ETA News Release: $20 million in additional funds available as part of Obama administration's efforts to end cycle of poverty, criminality and incarceration [11/17/2015]

Training to Work grants improve employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated adults

WASHINGTON — State and federal prisons release more than 600,000 people each year. Back in society — without the benefits of a steady job — far too many are likely to return.

November 16, 2015

OSHA seeks public comment as it updates Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is seeking public comment on an updated version of its voluntary Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines. First published in 1989, the guidelines are being updated to reflect modern technology and practices.

November 16, 2015

WHD News Brief: US Labor Department investigation finds over 450 Family and Medical Leave Act violations at St. Mary's Health Care System Inc. in Athens, Georgia[11/16/2015]

Employer name: St. Mary's Health Care System Inc.

Investigation site: 1230 Baxter St., Athens, Georgia 30606

November 16, 2015

OSHA News Brief: OSHA investigation finds 37 safety and health violations at Ridgway, Pennsylvania, metal company after worker suffers leg amputation [11/16/2015]

Employer name: Clarion Sintered Metals Inc.'s main manufacturing plant is located at 3472 Montmorenci Road in Ridgway, Pennsylvania. This was the inspected worksite, where the company designs, manufactures, machines, cleans and finishes metal parts.

November 16, 2015

OSHA News Release: OSHA seeks public comment as it updates Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines [11/16/2015]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is seeking public comment on an updated version of its voluntary Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines. First published in 1989, the guidelines are being updated to reflect modern technology and practices.