Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government.

Here’s how you know

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

United States Department of Labor
U.S. Department of Labor
FAQ Contact Us
submenu
  • TOPICS

    Back

      • Topics
        • Disability Resources
        • Disaster Recovery Assistance
        • Domestic Workers
        • Elaws
        • Equal Employment Opportunity
        • Evidence
        • Grants
        • Guidance Search
        • Health Plans and Benefits
        • Hiring
        • Registered Apprenticeship
        • International Labor Issues
        • Job Corps
        • Labor Relations
        • Leave Benefits
        • Major Laws of DOL
        • Other Benefits
        • Posters
        • Retirement Plans, Benefits and Savings
        • Spanish-Language Resources
        • Statistics
        • Termination
        • Training
        • Unemployment Insurance
        • Veterans Employment
        • Wages
        • Whistleblower Protection
        • Work Hours
        • Workers' Compensation
        • Workplace Safety and Health
        • Youth & Young Worker Employment
      • Key Topics

        • Breaks and Meal Periods
        • Continuation of Health Coverage - COBRA
        • FMLA (Family and Medical Leave)
        • Full-Time Employment
        • Grants
        • Mental Health
  • AGENCIES

    Back

      • Agencies
        • Office of the Secretary (OSEC)
        • Administrative Review Board (ARB)
        • Benefits Review Board (BRB)
        • Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)
        • Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
        • Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
        • Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB)
        • Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
        • Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
        • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
        • Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ)
        • Office of Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs (OCIA)
        • Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)
        • Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
        • Office of Inspector General (OIG)
        • Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)
        • Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM)
        • Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP)
        • Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO)
        • Office of the Solicitor (SOL)
        • Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)
        • Ombudsman for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOMBD)
        • Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
        • Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS)
        • Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
        • Women's Bureau (WB)
  • FORMS
  • ABOUT US

    Back

      • About Us
        • Agencies and Programs
        • Meet the Secretary of Labor
        • Leadership Team
        • Budget, Performance and Planning
        • Calendar
        • Careers at DOL
        • History
        • Privacy Program
        • Recursos en Español
  • NEWS

    Back

      • News
        • Newsroom
        • News Releases
        • Blog
        • Economic Data from the Department of Labor
        • Email Newsletter
  • FAQ
  • CONTACT US
Breadcrumb
  • Home
  • Newsroom

Please note: As of 01/20/2025, information in some newsletters may be out of date or not reflect current policies.

DOL Seal

U.S. Department of Labor

January 16, 2025

Workers wearing PPE are packaging raw meat products on an assembly line.

Largest U.S. meat processor enters $4M agreement to combat child labor

The department has entered into an agreement with JBS USA Food Co. in which the nation’s leading meat packing processor and slaughterhouse will provide $4 million to prevent illegal child labor and support victims of the practice nationwide. The Jan. 13 agreement commits JBS to holding its supply chain, third-party contractors and service providers accountable for illegal child labor. In fiscal year 2024, department investigators found more than 4,000 illegally employed children.

Poultry workers wearing PPE on a poultry processing line.

Meat and poultry companies urged to make worker safety a ‘first principle’

The latest findings in the USDA’s report on worker safety in poultry and swine plants show that injuries, including chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders, are too common. These kinds of injuries often go unreported. 

  • Read about the findings from the USDA on worker safety in poultry and swine plants 
  • Read Acting Labor Secretary Su's statement on the report

Employee removes large ice block from industrial ice machine

$1M recovery may have chilling effect on California wage thieves

Seventy workers at California ice manufacturers in San Diego and Lake Elsinore will receive their share of $527,687 in back wages and an equal amount in damages recovered by Wage and Hour Division investigators who determined the companies’ common ownership deliberately withheld overtime workers earned. Investigators learned many regularly worked an average of 16 hours of unpaid overtime each week.

Two workers wearing safety vests and helmets survey an outdoor mining operation.

Chronic violators and operators who disregard miners’ safety and health identified

MSHA released the second Pattern of Violations screening in 2024. In the past two years, violations at 200 mines with the most significant and substantial violations have decreased 15 percent. These screenings help MSHA improve safety compliance and are a critical tool to protect the nation’s miners and rein in chronic violators.

Folders with the label Employees and Salaries.

Wages recovered at home and beyond

Read the success stories of how the Wage and Hour Division and the Bureau of International Labor Affairs stood up to recover back wages and much more for workers both domestically and abroad. 

  • We sued a Wichita adult gentlemen’s club to recover wages for 80 dancers 
  • A Mexican manufacturer will pay bonuses and back wages and rehire two fired workers

Picture of Iqbal Masih, namesake of the annual award

Nominate a hero today!

Each year, the department awards the Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor to recognize extraordinary efforts by an individual, company, organization or national government in reducing the worst forms of child labor. Established in 2008 by Congress, the award honors Masih, a Pakistani child sold into slavery at age four to work as a carpet weaver. After escaping at age 10, Masih became an outspoken public advocate against child exploitation. Two years later in his native Pakistan, he was killed tragically. Nominations must be submitted by Feb. 21.

An older Black woman in professional dress looks at the camera while holding a marker.

The effects of the gender wage gap

The Women’s Bureau’s recent analysis of the gender wage gap reveals that women – especially older women – throughout the U.S. are dealing with the negative effects of earning less over time, including: 

  • An exploration of the wage gap for older women 
  • The gender wage gap since the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 
  • How to improve women's retirement security

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Older man in a baseball cap sits on a sidewalk under a small tree, next to a cart with belongings and has a large white cardboard sign that reads “one of many homeless veterans.”

Supporting veterans

We’ve made $17 million available to help organizations combat homelessness among military veterans with employment services.


Workers sort peaches at farm warehouse

Locating workers owed wages

The department is trying to locate 617 temporary agricultural workers owed their share of $132,308 recovered from Titan Fruit & Vegetable Co. Inc., a South Carolina employer.


Healthcare workers wearing PPE walking down a hallway.

OSHA infectious disease rule

OSHA has stopped its COVID-19 rulemaking to focus on adopting a rulemaking standard that better protects healthcare workers from exposure to many different infectious diseases, including COVID-19.


Worker used high pressure water spray cleaning conveyor belt in chicken meat process.

Fighting child labor abuses

Perdue Farms Inc. and cleaning company settle child labor violations after investigations at a Virginia poultry processing facility.


FOA Funding Opportunity Announcement.

Job training grants available

At least $25 million in grants are available to support organizations that provide training and employment services to incarcerated people before and after their release.


A woman with dark hair sits by a window, holding a baby in her lap.

Four years of progress

A Wage and Hour Division employee reflects on the department’s progress in supporting working under the Biden-Harris administration.


DATA SPOTLIGHT

December 2024: +256,000 jobs added. 4.1% unemployment rate. BLS | dol.gov

Strong labor close for 2024

The U.S. economy added 256,000 jobs last month. The December 2024 gains include growth in health care, retail, government and social assistance. Check out the highlights from the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

POST OF THE WEEK

Are you prepared to protect yourself and your team from cold stress? 🌨️🥶 As temperatures drop, workers face many winter weather hazards. Watch for shivering, numbness, fatigue or confusion. If you notice these signs, act quickly! Learn more 👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/gPPmhadX 

-OSHA LinkedIn

IN THE NEWS

  • Daily Reporter: OSHA penalties increase in 2025 
  • HR DIVE: Leading meat processor will pay $4M to counter illegal child labor practices 
  • WHYY-FM 90.9 Philadelphia: Final Employment Reports of Joe Biden’s Presidency Showed Surprisingly Strong Job Market 
  • My Buckhannon: WVU engineer enhances mining safety with augmented reality training 
  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The future of dairy: How a state apprenticeship program is training workers and boosting small businesses 
  • CBS News: South Carolina peach grower took money from farmworkers' pay for political donations, feds say 
  • KAKE-TV ABC 10 Wichita: Labor department sues Wichita gentlemen’s club to recover back wages, damages for 80 dancers 
  • Working Nation: Women in the workforce are making strides, but there is still work to do

 

We're hiring!Grants available!Upcoming events
X logo          Facebook          Instagram          LinkedIn          Youtube
SUBSCRIBE SEND FEEDBACK ARCHIVE
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20210
www.dol.gov | 1-866-4USADOL (1-866-487-2365)
Do not want to get emails from us? You can unsubscribe here. (We will miss you!)
If you are having trouble viewing this newsletter, please go to
https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/newsletter/
Scroll to Top
  • Agencies
  • Forms
  • Guidance Search
  • FAQ
  • About DOL
  • News
  • Contact Us
United States Department of Labor
U.S. Department of Labor

200 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20210
1-866-4-USA-DOL
1-866-487-2365

www.dol.gov

Federal Government
  • White House
  • Disaster Recovery Assistance
  • DisasterAssistance.gov
  • USA.gov
  • No Fear Act Data
  • U.S. Office of Special Counsel
Labor Department
  • About DOL
  • Guidance Search
  • Español
  • Office of Inspector General
  • Subscribe to the DOL Newsletter
  • Read the DOL Newsletter
  • Emergency Accountability Status Link
  • A to Z Index
About The Site
  • Freedom of Information Act
  • Privacy & Security Statement
  • Disclaimers
  • Important Website Notices
  • Plug-Ins Used on DOL.gov
  • Accessibility Statement

Connect With DOL

Facebook X Instagram LinkedIn Youtube
Important Website Notices Privacy & Security Statement