May 8, 2015

WHD News Brief: Labor Department obtains consent judgment against Shivam Hospitality for violations resulting from misclassifying employees as independent contractors [05/08/2015]

Employer name: Shivam Hospitality LLC, formerly doing business as Super 8 motel, and as of early 2015 doing business as the Florence Aston Hotel.

Investigation site: 7928 Dream Street, Florence, Kentucky 41042

May 8, 2015

EBSA News Brief: Labor Department sues Alabama's Law Partners LLC for improper use of employee retirement contributions [05/08/2015]

Date of Action: April 28, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: Law Partners LLC, Milton Bryan Peoples, and the Law Partners LLC 401(k) Salary Reduction Plan

May 7, 2015

WHD News Brief: US Labor Department signs agreement with Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training to protect misclassified workers

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor, Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training

May 6, 2015

ETA News Brief: Massachusetts to receive $3M to help workers affected by layoffs

State: Massachusetts

Type of Award: National Emergency Grant funding

Initial Award Amount Released: $980,499

Total Award Amount Approved: $3,214,752

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

Number of Workers to Be Served: About 400

May 6, 2015

OSHA News Brief: DHC Contracting knowingly put workers at risk of trench collapse hazards at Guyton, Georgia work site [05/06/2015]

Employer name: James Marlowe, doing business as DHC Contracting, Statesboro, Georgia

Inspection site: At the time of the inspection, workers were installing a replacement manhole at the South Effingham Waste Water Effluent Pump Station on Hodgeville Road, Guyton, Georgia 31312

May 5, 2015

ETA News Brief: Grants fund continued recovery efforts related to 2013 Colorado storms

State: Colorado

Type of Award: National Emergency Grant incremental funding

Incremental Award Released: $637,464

Total Award Amount Approved: $4,609,937

Funding Awarded to: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment

Number of Workers to Be Served: About 230

May 5, 2015

'My Disability Is One Part of Who I Am'

2015 Theme Announced for Octobers National Disability Employment Awareness Month

WASHINGTON — Planning for National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2015 is underway, and the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced the official theme for the October observance: "My Disability Is One Part of Who I Am."

May 5, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Employees of Utica, New York, steel and pipe manufacturer face laceration, crushing, exit access and fall hazards [05/05/2015]

Employer name: Pacemaker Steel & Piping Co. Inc., provider of steel, aluminum and other metals and pipe to the construction trade.

Inspection site: 501 Main St. Utica, New York 13501

May 5, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Sabel Steel Service Inc. exposes workers to unsafe levels of lead, fall and electrical shock hazards [05/05/2015]

Employer name: Sabel Steel Service Inc.

Inspection site: 2811 Day Street, Montgomery, Alabama 36103

Date inspection initiated: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated the inspection on Nov. 4, 2014, as part of the agency's Regional Emphasis Program on Lead.

May 5, 2015

OSHA News Release: Workers found on unsafe scaffolding at fast food restaurant in Lilburn, Georgia [05/05/2015]

LILBURN, Ga. — Employers who ignore safety in search of profit put their workers at risk. This idea was apparent to safety and health inspectors as they drove by a Bojangles' restaurant under construction in Lilburn in October 2014.

May 5, 2015

ETA News Brief: Grants fund continued recovery efforts related to 2013 Colorado storms [05/05/2015]

State: Colorado

Type of Award: National Emergency Grant incremental funding

Incremental Award Released: $637,464

Total Award Amount Approved: $4,609,937

Funding Awarded to: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment

Number of Workers to Be Served: About 230

May 4, 2015

Record numbers of construction workers expected to get prevention message in 2015 National Fall Safety Stand-Down

OSHA partners with thousands of businesses to save lives by preventing falls in construction

WASHINGTON Today is a day like any other. The sun rose. People went to work to build our homes, our businesses and our bridges. By day's end, not all of them will go home. Each year, hundreds of workers die and thousands more suffer serious injuries because they fell and lacked the right safety equipment or knowledge to prevent it. For constructions workers, falls are the leading cause of death.

May 4, 2015

US Labor Department sues defunct Oregon wood manufacturing company and its owner to restore retirement plan assets

Date of Action: May 1, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: Charles W. Buller; Park Place Wood Products Inc.; and the Park Place Woods Products Inc. Retirement Savings Plan

May 4, 2015

OSHA News Brief: Mississippi's Suburban Plastics fails to correct workplace hazards following OSHA inspection [05/04/2015]

Employer name: Suburban Plastics Co.

Inspection site: 1000 Enterprise Drive, Grenada, Mississippi 38901

Date of inspection: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration initiated a follow-up inspection on Jan. 6, 2015.

May 4, 2015

OSHA News Release: Roofer's death could have been prevented with personal safety gear [05/04/2015]

KNOB NOSTER, Mo. — A 30-year-old roofer's life was cut tragically short in November 2014 after he suffered severe head trauma in a fall. A father of two young boys, the man was found unresponsive below a 32-foot extension ladder he was using to renovate a roof at a two-story building at Missouri's Whiteman Air Force Base.

May 4, 2015

OSHA News Release: Lack of protective equipment for Republic Steel plant electrician results in 1st and 3rd degree burns after arc flash [05/04/2015]

BUFFALO, New York — An electric technician at the Republic Steel Corp. steel manufacturing plant in Blasdell was removing wiring from a fan motor in an overhead crane on October 16, 2014, when an ungrounded electrical conductor touched a grounded surface causing an arc flash. The electric technician sustained third degree burns on her hand and first degree burns on her face.

May 4, 2015

EBSA News Brief: US Labor Department sues defunct Oregon wood manufacturing company and its owner to restore retirement plan assets [05/04/2015]

Date of Action: May 1, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: Charles W. Buller; Park Place Wood Products Inc.; and the Park Place Woods Products Inc. Retirement Savings Plan

May 1, 2015

Confined spaces rule could protect nearly 800 construction workers a year from serious injuries and reduce life-threatening hazards

Construction protections now match those in manufacturing and general industry

WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued a final rule to increase protections for construction workers in confined spaces.