December 8, 2014

WHD News Release: Boise-area restaurant chain to pay a total of $230,000 in unpaid overtime and damages to 51 workers following US Labor Department investigation [12/08/2014]

BOISE, Idaho — Chapala Mexican Restaurant, a Boise-area restaurant chain, will pay $230,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 51 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found overtime violations at its Boise, Nampa, Garden City and McCall locations.

December 8, 2014

EBSA News Release: Fiduciaries of national multi-employer benefit plan based in Cherry Hill, N.J., ordered to pay $4.7 million in assets and interest [12/08/2014]

CHERRY HILL, N.J. — A federal judge has found the fiduciaries of a defunct national multi-employer benefit plan based in Cherry Hill, are liable for approximately $4.7 million in assets that were improperly diverted. James Doyle and Cynthia Holloway, fiduciaries to the Professional Industrial Trade Workers Union Health and Welfare Fund, must make restitution to the plan, with interest, for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

December 5, 2014

OPA News Release: Statement of US Labor Secretary Perez on November employment numbers [12/05/2014]

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the November 2014 Employment Situation report released today:

December 5, 2014

MSHA News Release: MSHA honors the contributions of miners, past and present [12/05/2014]

ARLINGTON, Va. — On Dec. 6, the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration marks National Miners Day, designated by Congress to honor the contributions and sacrifices of miners, both past and present. The date commemorates the worst industrial mine accident in American history when 362 miners perished in an explosion at the No. 6 and No. 8 mines in Monongah, West Virginia, on this date in 1907.

December 4, 2014

WHD News Release: General Interior Systems Inc. to pay $380K in back wages to more than 300 employees misclassified as independent contractors [12/04/2014]

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that Liverpool employer General Interior Systems Inc., and its president, Jeffrey T. Mento, violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act by misclassifying more than 300 employees working as drywall installers as independent contractors and failed to pay them overtime. The department obtained a judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York that required payment of $380,000 in back wages to the affected employees.

December 4, 2014

OSHA News Release: OSHA cites Environmental Remediation and Recovery Inc. after worker dies while cleaning oil residue inside rail car at Mounds, Illinois, facility [12/04/2014]

MOUNDS, Ill. — A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation found that Environmental Remediation and Recovery Inc. did not have equipment or trained personnel to rescue a 27-year-old worker promptly who collapsed and later died while cleaning a rail car. OSHA has cited seven willful and 14 serious safety violations, many involving permit-required confined space safety regulations.

December 4, 2014

OSHA News Release: Workers faced potentially fatal falls, electrocution at Yonkers, New York, work site [12/04/2014]

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — Workers constructing a precast concrete building at 33 Ashburton Ave. in Yonkers faced potentially deadly or disabling falls, electrocution and other hazards, which led the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to cite four New York contractors for safety and health violations.

December 4, 2014

OSHA News Release: Statement from Assistant Secretary of Labor Dr. David Michaels on 2013 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses [12/04/2014]

WASHINGTON — Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, today issued the following statement on the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2013 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses:

December 3, 2014

OSHA News Release: Workers exposed to amputation and electrical hazards at El Paso, Texas, stamping plant, inspection finds [12/03/2014]

EL PASO, Texas — A federal inspection prompted by employee complaints found workers exposed to amputations and other hazards at D&D Manufacturing Inc. The El Paso company has been cited for 41 safety and health violations, including 36 serious violations, by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

December 3, 2014

OSHA News Release: OSHA investigation finds workers exposed to lead-based paint while restoring Evanston, Illinois, home [12/03/2014]

EVANSTON, Ill. — U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors found employees at Arturo's Painting & Restauration Inc. being exposed to dangerous levels of lead-based paint while they manually scraped and power sanded a home exterior in Evanston without personal protective equipment. OSHA initiated an inspection of the company under the National Emphasis Program for Lead, which identified 17 serious safety violations for which the company was cited.

December 3, 2014

OSHA News Release: International Union of Operating Engineers renews alliance with OSHA to protect Illinois apprentices on construction, earthmoving and trenching sites [12/03/2014]

CHICAGO — The International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 Apprenticeship and Skill Improvement Program and the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration have renewed an alliance to protect and educate workers on construction and excavation hazards.

December 3, 2014

OFCCP News Release: Final rule to protect workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity announced by US Labor Department [12/03/2014]

WASHINGTON — A new rule prohibiting discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity in the federal contracting workforce is being announced today by the U.S. Department of Labor. The rule implements Executive Order 13672, which was signed by President Obama on July 21.

December 2, 2014

WHD News Release: Watco Terminal & Port Services to pay 261 North Dakota workers more than $300K in back wages following US Labor Department investigation [12/02/2014]

MINOT, N.D. — An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that load operators at three Watco Terminal & Port Services' locations in Belfield, Stanley and Tioga were not paid for pre-shift work, as required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Watco will pay 261 workers a total of $304,094 in overtime back wages.

December 2, 2014

OSHA News Release: Guyoung Tech USA cited for serious safety and health violations [12/02/2014]

EVERGREEN, Ala. — Guyoung Tech USA Inc. was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 14 safety and health violations. A July 2014 inspection of the company's Evergreen facility found the company exposed workers to potentially fatal hazards, including amputations and electric shock. The inspection was initiated as part of the agency's Regional Emphasis Program for Safety Hazards in the Auto Parts Industry. Proposed penalties total $68,000.

December 2, 2014

OSHA News Release: OSHA cites Arvato Digital Services & Parallel Employment Group after temporary worker suffers severe electrical shock injuries [12/02/2014]

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. — A 24-year-old temporary maintenance employee suffered severe burns from electrical shock while on assignment for Parallel Employment Group of Wisconsin Inc. Working at the Arvato Digital Services LLC distribution center in Pleasant Prairie, the employee came in contact with an energized electrical source and suffered electrical shock. This caused severe burns and left the employee unable to work for more than four months after the May 19, 2014, incident.

December 2, 2014

OSHA News Release: Worker suffers serious injury on 25th birthday at new job with Wagner's LLC [12/02/2014]

MILFORD, Ill. — A Wagner's LLC employee didn't expect to spend his 25th birthday in the hospital, but that happened on May 31, 2014. The employee cleared birdseed from an industrial mixing tank at the Milford facility and had his left hand and arm severely injured after they were caught in a moving piece of machinery. He had been on the job for two months.

December 2, 2014

ILAB News Release: The Honorable Sen. Tom Harkin awarded US Labor Department's Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor [12/02/2014]

WASHINGTON U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today announced the Honorable Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa as the recipient of the department's 2014 Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor. Secretary Perez presented the award to Sen. Harkin at a ceremony today at the department.

December 1, 2014

U.S. Department of Labor files complaint to remove fiduciaries of Rose Business Forms Company’s employee benefit plans

Date of Action: Nov. 25, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendant: William Robin Rose and Rose Business Forms Company d/b/a Rose Printing Services, Inc., as fiduciaries to the Rose Printing Services Inc. Employees 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan, Rose Printing Services Inc. Employees Health Plan and Rose Printing Services Inc. Employees Dental Plan in Fowlerville, Michigan

December 1, 2014

OSHA News Release: Mail handler fired following work-related injury at Sharonville, Ohio, US Postal Service facility [12/01/2014]

SHARONVILLE, Ohio — A U.S. Postal Service mail handler was terminated after being transported to a medical facility for treatment of a workplace injury. The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against the Postal Service on behalf of the employee at the Sharonville facility. The lawsuit seeks restoration of lost pay and benefits totaling approximately $9,000.