Celebrating a century of service

In Tucson – a city whose average high this summer was 103.4 degrees – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su joined Mayor Regina Romero to discuss heat safety policies. They heard from Arizona workers about the challenges of working in high temperatures and discussed OSHA’s proposed standard to protect workers from occupational heat hazards and other efforts to keep workers safe. Later that day, Acting Secretary Su visited an early learning center and saw how federal investments are benefiting working parents and children in Arizona.

Acting Secretary Su paid tribute to nine labor unions that have fought for workers’ rights for more than 100 years by inducting them into the department’s Century of Service Honor Roll of American Labor Organizations. After the induction ceremony, Acting Secretary Su joined labor leaders on a panel to discuss the future of organized labor and inspire attendees to build an equitable and inclusive labor movement.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month is just a few weeks away! Each October, we celebrate the value and talent workers with disabilities add to America’s workplaces and economy. Watch our video highlighting the importance of NDEAM and share it to help spread the word about the importance of access to good jobs for all.

At the Sept. 13 White House Summit on Extreme Heat, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker joined representatives from across the federal government to share how we’re taking action. He shared updates on OSHA’s proposed rule to protect indoor and outdoor workers from heat hazards, noting that while heat can impact all workers, it disproportionately affects workers of color. 

• Readout from the summit on extreme heat
• Read and comment on OSHA’s proposed rule 
• Learn more about administration actions on heat 

Signed in September 1974, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act was designed to protect the interests of employee benefit plan participants and their beneficiaries and has evolved to meet the changing retirement and healthcare needs of workers and their families. Fifty years later, our Employee Benefits Security Administration is still helping workers, retirees, fiduciaries and their families – and vigorously enforcing the law. In fact, just last year, EBSA recovered $1.4 billion in direct payments to plans, participants and beneficiaries. 

• Learn more about ERISA
• Blog: How we’re upholding ERISA’s legacy
• Blog: A half-century of enforcement and partnership

Pennsylvania State University will pay $703,742 in back wages and interest and enter into a conciliation agreement to resolve alleged gender pay discrimination against female employees.

No one should lose pay or their job while recovering from gender-based violence. New Women’s Bureau issue briefs detail safe leave best practices and policies.

We recovered $957,324 for 168 workers via a jury decision in a suit we filed against three Kansas restaurant owners who used servers' tips to pay hosts and bussers, among other wage violations.

A Minnesota HVAC company must restore $9,259 to its IRA plan after we obtained a default judgment finding them liable for losses related to late and unremitted plan contributions and lost opportunity costs.

We have ordered the subsidiary of global building materials supplier to reinstate and compensate a truck driver who was fired after raising safety concerns.

We’ve filed suit to recover $1.87 million in back wages and damages for 26 Dragon Kitchen workers in Missouri after finding minimum wage and overtime violations.

Read the stories of two former service members who used Veterans’ Employment and Training Service programs to start new chapters in their lives.

Under the USMCA’s Rapid Response Mechanism, an issue involving the denial of workers' rights has been resolved at an auto parts manufacturer in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

A new resource presented as a story in comic format can help agricultural workers understand their rights on the job. 

• Download the migrant worker rights comic in English 
• Descargalo en español 

During HBCU Week, we spoke with one of our employees about how Historically Black Colleges and Universities can serve as pathways to public service.

-USDOL LinkedIn

• The Herald-Palladium (Michigan): U.S. Department of Labor official visits Van Buren Tech
• USA Today: ERISA, the law creating modern 401(k) plans, was enacted 50 years ago
• WKBT News 8 (Wisconsin): Julie Su speaks at Wisconsin AFL-CIO biennial convention at the La Crosse Center
• KWCH 12 Kansas: Federal jury awards $957K in back wages for 168 Wichita-area restaurant workers
• Khaosod English: Thai Fish-Based Products Under Scrutiny As US Updates Forced Labor List