Miners, mine operators urged to take precautions during colder months

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration kicks off its 2010 Winter Alert campaign today to warn miners and mine operators about the dangers colder weather can bring to the mining environment. Historically, statistics show that most coal mine explosions occur during the colder months.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The current and former trustees of several retirement, health and welfare plans of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 99 in Cranston, R.I., were ordered to repay $439,755.62 to the plans as restitution for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, according to a consent order and judgment obtained by the U.S. Department of Labor.

RHINELAND, Mo. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the owner of defunct Lensing Earthworks Inc. of Rhineland for allegedly paying operating expenses using employee contributions to the company’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement accounts.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Oct. 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 434,000, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 455,000. The 4-week moving average was 453,250, a decrease of 5,500 from the previous week's revised average of 458,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending Oct. 16, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's revised rate of 3.6 percent.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of a new online toolkit to guide employers through the process for hiring veterans. The free toolkit is designed to assist and educate employers who have made the proactive decision to include veterans and wounded warriors in their recruitment and hiring initiatives.

DOVER, Del. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued David Owen, the former president of defunct Owen Printing Dover Inc., for failure to remit employee contributions to the company’s 401(k) plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration has approved national guidelines for apprenticeship standards for the occupation of direct support professional. These standards will enable employers to use ETA's Registered Apprenticeship program to train workers for careers in the long-term care sector of the health care industry.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $3,390,568 grant to assist about 300 workers affected by fishing industry layoffs in the Lummi Nation, located near Bellingham, Wash.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $64,499 National Emergency Grant supplemental award to continue to provide services to 198 workers affected by layoffs at BAE Systems Inc. in Fridley, Minn.

"Continued access to quality training and job search services is a crucial component in helping Minnesotans find re-employment in today's challenging labor market," said Jane Oates, assistant secretary for the department's Employment and Training Administration.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued 54 workplace safety and health citations with penalties totaling $1.2 million to gun powder substitute manufacturer Black Mag LLC, following an investigation into the causes of a deadly explosion in May at the company's worksite in Colebrook, N.H. The explosion took the lives of two workers who had been on the job for only a month.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics today announced that nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses among private industry employers declined in 2009 to a rate of 3.6 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, down from a total case rate of 3.9 in 2008. BLS also reported a decline in the total number of cases from 3.7 million in 2008 to 3.3 million in 2009. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement:

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending Oct. 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 452,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 475,000. The 4-week moving average was 458,000, a decrease of 4,250 from the previous week's revised average of 462,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent for the week ending Oct. 9, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 3.5 percent.

VERNON, Texas — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has announced that Tyson Refrigerated Processed Meats Inc. has agreed to settle findings of hiring discrimination against 157 African-American and 375 Caucasian applicants for laborer positions at the company's bacon processing plant in Vernon.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants today launched a new, interactive website to help small businesses select a retirement plan suitable for their employees.

The website, "Choosing A Retirement Solution for Your Small Business" – available at http://www.choosingaretirementsolution.org. – was jointly developed and is co-sponsored by the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration and the AICPA.

New York – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Beacon Associates Management Corp., Andover Associates Management Corp., Ivy Asset Management LLC, J.P. Jeanneret Associates Inc. and the principals of the four companies for causing dozens of pension, health and other employee benefit plan clients to lose hundreds of millions of dollars through investments with Bernard L. Madoff and his firm.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced a proposed rule to update the definition of "fiduciary" to more broadly define the term as a person who provides investment advice to plans for a fee or other compensation.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $3,008,790 grant to provide an estimated 1,868 jobless workers in Virginia with partial premium payments for health insurance coverage.

WASHINGTON – Phyllis C. Borzi, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, will hold an Oct. 21 conference call with members of the media to discuss a proposed rule to amend the regulatory definition of the term “fiduciary” under section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The proposed amendment would better reflect the current practices of investment advisers and the expectations of plan officials and participants who receive investment advice.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today certified for release $1,335,274 in unemployment insurance modernization incentive funds to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The territory qualified for these funds, which account for the remaining two-thirds of its share of the funds available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, by making unemployment benefits available to part-time workers and by including certain family-friendly provisions in its UI law.

ARLINGTON, Va. The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 499 citations, 61 orders and three safeguards during special impact inspections conducted at 15 coal and 15 metal/nonmetal mine operations last month.