The future of work is bright, thanks to investments in good jobs

In Florida this week, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su toured a training facility for emergency response and property restoration. Later she gathered with industry professionals to announce a partnership to promote quality jobs that ensure climate resilience, a growing need as the nation’s weather intensifies. These resilience jobs will be good jobs with family-sustaining wages, dignity and respect, and they will uplift entire communities. The partnership will also design training pathways that are tied to actual jobs.

Acting Secretary Su joined federal, state and local officials in Georgia this week as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s “Investing in Rural America” tour. Acting Secretary Su discussed efforts by the administration and Congressional partners to create pathways to good jobs for workers in Georgia’s rural communities and across the nation. The department’s contributions include recovering unpaid wages, extending overtime protections and protecting retirement savings. Acting Secretary Su also joined Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training José Javier Rodríguez in touring a local Job Corps Center.

A health and welfare benefits administration firm, its owner and others must restore more than $4.4 million in fringe benefits owed to people employed by government service contractors across the U.S., according to the terms of a consent judgment. Our investigators found that Axim Fringe Solutions Group LLC, plus its majority owner and the firm’s director of compliance accounting, misused funds from fringe benefit plans.

OSHA is reminding residents, emergency responders and others working in flood rescue and recovery following recent intense rainfall to protect themselves against common hazards. “Flood recovery work presents numerous safety and health hazards — amid power loss, and water accumulation and saturation of building materials and electrical components — all of which can be minimized by being knowledgeable, following safe work practices and using personal protective equipment for debris removal,” said OSHA Southeast Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer.

Our Women’s Bureau hosted a summit this week focusing on ending gender-based violence and harassment in the world of work and uplifting the principles of Convention 190 in the U.S. Speakers and participants discussed the importance of identifying, responding to and preventing gender-based violence and harassment on national, state and local levels.

With extreme heat spreading around the country, employers and workers should be aware of the risks and know how to prevent heat illness.

We announced a settlement with the Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. requiring it to change its evidence of insurability requirement for participants in job-based life insurance plans.

Rural workers face unique challenges. Our WORC grants provide a new set of tools to help them secure good jobs.

We’re working to #SlamTheScam in observance of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day with a few points to help combat financial abuse.

One of our staff members shares her experience growing up as a gay person living with anxiety in rural West Virginia, and how it shaped her personal and professional life.

Our new worker rights video draws attention to an issue some migrant workers face: bosses illegally holding onto identification documents.

• Share the link to help us spread the word about document rights 
• Comparta el enlace para ayudarnos a difundir información sobre los derechos documentales

We believe mental health is just as important as physical health. An Employee Benefits Security Administration benefits advisor can explain your rights regarding mental health care, how to file a claim and more. 

We proudly raised the Juneteenth flag at our D.C. headquarters today. We recommit ourselves to combating injustice anywhere — and fulfilling the promise of freedom and justice everywhere

-U.S. Department of Labor LinkedIn

• AL.com: Secretary of Labor visits Birmingham to bring people in from the sidelines for ‘Good Jobs’
• National Law Review:  U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Offers AI Guidance for Government Contractors and Other Employers 
• Birmingham Times:  U.S. Secretary of Labor Brings ‘Good Jobs’ Tour to Birmingham
• Newsday: Trench safety prevents needless deaths 
• The Daily Drum (WHUR): U.S. Department of Labor: The Latest Job Report