Employers name: Landfried Paving Inc., 172 Crestview Drive, Greenville, Pennsylvania

Inspection site: 200 Mulberry St., Meadville, Pennsylvania  

Citations issued: On March 22, 2016, the  U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for one willful violation and two serious violations. 

Date of action: Feb. 18, 2016

Type of action: Order granting Wage and Hour Division’s motion for summary decision

Names of defendant: Overdevest Nurseries LP, wholesale grower of plants, shrubs, trees and flower

NIAGARA, Wis. – For the sixth time since 2011, federal inspectors found a Wisconsin wood pallet manufacturer failed to comply with safety and health standards – putting its employees in jeopardy of suffering amputation, burns and other life-threatening injuries.

KENNETT, Mo. ‒ A machine that sizes and cuts rubber hose severed a 52-year-old woman’s right arm just nine days after she starting a new job in Kennett as a machine operator at Parker Hannifin Corporation, a global manufacturer in the mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. After an investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined the machine lacked adequate safety guards to prevent the horrific injury.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with Dover Greens LLC, formerly known as Olivet Management LLC, which commits the real estate development and management company to provide and maintain enhanced safeguards for workers renovating the former Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center in Dover Plains. 

HOBBS, N.M. – Nova Mud Inc., Nova Hardbanding LLC and Nova Sand LLC have paid $1.5 million – $750,000 in back wages and an additional, equal amount in liquidated damages – to 241 oil well service workers after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. All three commonly owned and operated businesses violated overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

ORANGE CITY, Fla. – Had their employer inspected an aerial lift properly, it might not have malfunctioned and surged forward, crushing one worker to death and severely injuring another as they removed rain gutters at a local car dealership on Sept. 30, 2015, investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration have determined.

OMAHA, Neb. ‒ After four preventable work-related deaths since March 9, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is urging Husker state employers to carefully review safety and health programs, and their procedures to stem the tragic tide.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a final rule to improve protections for workers exposed to respirable silica dust. The rule will curb lung cancer, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease in America’s workers by limiting their exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

In the week ending March 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 265,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 6,000 from 265,000 to 259,000. The 4-week moving average was 259,750, an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 8,500 from 268,000 to 259,500.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a National Dislocated Worker Grant for up to $15 million to the Michigan Strategic Fund to assist with humanitarian and recovery efforts resulting from the contaminated water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

Employer name: The Kroger Co.

Inspection site: 3491 N. Bend Road, Cincinnati, Ohio

Citations issued: March 17, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Cincinnati area office cited The Kroger Store for one repeat, and one serious safety violation.

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act Consent Judgment

Name of Defendants:

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy today announced the launch of “TalentWorks” – a free online tool that helps employers and human resources professionals ensure accessibility in their web-based job applications and other recruiting technologies for job seekers with disabilities.

Employers name: Alton Industries Inc., 11 Carlton Drive, Eighty Four, Pennsylvania

Inspection site:  704 A&B Jonagold Road, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

Citations issued: On March 22, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for one willful and one serious violation. 

WASHINGTON – Many characterize union organizing campaigns as debates between management and labor over the impact of unionization on businesses and workers. Today, employers commonly engage third-party consultants in crafting and delivering anti-union messages to workers. Workers often do not know when employers engage consultants behind the scenes to influence their decisions.

SAN ANTONIO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited five Texas companies for failing to inform construction workers renovating a San Antonio building of the presence of dangerous asbestos, and allowing other hazards. In total, the companies now face $185,150 in fines.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In Nashville today, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph A. Main highlighted the measurable improvements that have taken place in mine safety and health in the past five years.

VALMEYER, Ill. – Federal investigators found blunt force trauma killed a 46-year-old worker when a tree inadvertently hit him during logging operations on a remote 100-acre Mississippi River levy site in Valmeyer.

One of the nation’s most dangerous occupations, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 77 recorded deaths in the forestry industry in 2014.