Wages recovered and pensions secured

In Nanticoke, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman announced that, since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the department has recovered more than $1 billion in back wages and damages for 615,000 U.S. workers. The officials joined Northeast Building and Construction Trades Council representatives and local workers to tour the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ Local 163 training facility. They also discussed the importance of holding employers accountable and ensuring workers get what they are owed.

Investigators recovered back wages and damages for workers from employers around the country last week, including restaurant and home care industries. Read their success stories below. 

• $442K for 29 workers at four Milwaukee restaurants
• $317K for 45 Southern California home care workers 
• $120K from a Huddle House franchisee for 177 Oklahoma employees
• $105K for 28 Grand Rapids restaurant workers

More than 22,000 workers, retirees and their families in the Detroit Carpenter's Pension Plan had been bracing for reductions of as much as 70 percent in their hard-earned retirement benefits. Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration and the American Rescue Plan Act, these retirement savings are now secure and will be paid in full. On Oct. 17, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. approved $635 million in Special Financial Assistance for the pension plan. Last week, Acting Secretary Su celebrated the victory with union leaders, representatives, workers and labor advocates in Detroit.

OSHA investigators found Huntsville Granite and Marble could have prevented the death of a 33-year-old employee who was struck by a slab weighing thousands of pounds. “With the right procedures, equipment and training, this tragedy could have been avoided,” said OSHA Area Office Director Joel Batiz in Birmingham. OSHA issued the company citations for five serious violations.

In Michigan, Acting Secretary Su applauded a recent bill to allow the state’s individual homecare workers to unionize as welcome news for the care community and for the workers and families who rely on the services they provide. Citing a department study that shows how investing in the care infrastructure and family-supporting policies at levels similar to other countries could increase the U.S. labor force and generate up to $775 billion annually, Su said: “When we talk about care infrastructure, and people say, ‘How can we afford that?’ I say, ‘How can we afford not to?’”

Acting Secretary Su, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Rep. Chris Pappas gathered in New Hampshire to visit A Place to Grow, a Brentwood early learning center. They discussed the economic impact of childcare workers and how the Biden-Harris administration’s historic investments are supporting caregiving and increasing the number of women in the nation’s labor force. The center’s apprenticeship program provides a pathway for care workers into good, family-sustaining jobs. While in the Granite State, the acting secretary also stopped by the New Hampshire Job Corps Center, where graduates will be connected with employers working on more than $1 billion in infrastructure projects.

We’ve awarded up to $5.8 million in grants this week, including:

• Up to $5 million to support disaster-relief jobs and training for Tennessee residents affected by Tropical Storm Helene
• $800,000 to help employ and train Kansas residents displaced by layoffs and closures

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center will pay $900,000 in back wages and interest to resolve alleged racial hiring discrimination affecting 6,123 Black applicants.

Three Massachusetts contractors didn’t protect a worker who died after being struck and then buried by a house foundation in a 6-foot-deep trench. They face $283,115 in penalties.

A Texas school furnishings manufacturer’s lack of machine guards endangered employees, including one who suffered permanent injuries.

A Jacksonville waterpark faces $151,606 in penalties for assigning minors with hazardous work and allowing them to work late hours.

As Kimberly Rush struggled to juggle oncology appointments and work at a Safeway deli, she also found time to attend a cable-wiring program at Mesa Community College in Phoenix, a 45-minute drive to and from her home. Fortunately, her training was funded in part by one of our grants, which emphasize not just skills-building, but providing related assistance to ensure workers have the support they need to pursue their dreams. Read how this grant allowed Rush to pursue her dreams.

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-OSHA

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