Securing retirements, protecting workers

Fewer workers are dying from hazards where the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has focused its enforcement resources. Preliminary OSHA data shows a decrease in fatalities the agency is mandated to investigate, including significant reductions in fatal injuries from trench collapses and falls, two of the leading causes of death among construction industry workers. In FY 2024, federal OSHA investigated 826 worker deaths, an 11 percent reduction from 928 in the previous year. Excluding Covid-related deaths, this is the lowest number of worker fatalities OSHA has been mandated to investigate since FY 2017.

Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued a statement of congratulations after the International Association of Machinists voted to accept a contract proposed by the Boeing Company that includes wage increases, improved retirement benefits and more. “It is one of many historic wins for working people that are reshaping and strengthening American industries,” she said.

A new U.S. Department of Labor report shows the American Rescue Plan has protected the financially distressed pension plans of more than 1.2 million U.S. workers, retirees and their families so far, ensuring they receive the retirement benefits they earned. As of October 2024, more than $69 billion has been approved for 98 multiemployer pension plans, including the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Participating Food Industry Employers Tri-State Pension Plan. Acting Secretary Su joined President Biden in Philadelphia last week to announce special financial assistance to the UFCW plan, which has more than 29,000 participants. 

• Read how the distressed pension assistance program is protecting benefits for more than 1.2 million people. 
• View the UFCW event with President Biden and Acting Secretary Su

A Missouri bin operator’s lack of proper rescue equipment contributed to the grain engulfment death of a worker in Hamilton. Three MFA Inc. employees were removing clumps of corn dust in May when one worker became engulfed, and a co-worker trapped during a rescue attempt until first responders saved him. In October, Missouri was added to a National Emphasis Program that includes industry employers in Kansas and Nebraska where avoidable grain bin incidents have led to three deaths, 13 amputations and 36 hospitalizations between Oct. 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2023.

New York City officials, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and our Wage and Hour Division collaborated to hold Discover Electric Inc., EMG Industrial Chimney Inc. and QNCC Electrical Contracting Corp. accountable for failing to pay full wages and benefits required by federal regulations for projects funded fully or partially with federal funds. All three employers agreed to future compliance.

At the Community College of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania, Acting Secretary Su met students in the nation’s first Electric Vehicle Automotive Technician Registered Apprenticeship Program. Funded in part with a Department of Labor grant, the program is one of many Biden-Harris administration investments supporting a clean energy transition and building pathways to good jobs for workers in communities historically left behind.

Acting Secretary Su and Assistant Secretary for Veterans' Employment and Training James D. Rodriguez announced that 838 employers received HIRE Vets Medallions in 2024 during an online ceremony last week. The Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans program recognizes employers who support, hire and retain veterans in workplaces throughout the nation. Since the program’s inception, employers have hired nearly 370,000 veterans, including more than 71,000 veterans hired by 2024’s medallion honorees in the past two years. 

• Read about the more than 800 employers were honored for their commitment to employing the nation's service members.
• View the 2024 HIRE Vets Medallion Awards ceremony 

The department’s Office of the Solicitor has sued a York manufacturer, alleging the company wrongly fired an employee who refused to use a ladder unsafely and asked to use a forklift to move shelved stock. An OSHA whistleblower investigation found Red Lion Controls Inc.’s decision to terminate the worker violated their federal protections to voice concerns about unsafe workplace practices. The lawsuit alleges Red Lion Controls illegally retaliated against the worker and seeks the employee’s reinstatement and back wages and damages.

The 10th annual National Apprenticeship Week kicks off Nov. 17. Get ready by checking out some of our resources.

• National Apprenticeship Week landing page
• Blog: Access to good jobs for all through registered apprenticeships
• Training: Equal employment opportunity guidance for registration agencies
• Training: EEO guidance for apprenticeship sponsors
• Training: Reasonable accommodation guidance for federal partners
• Training: EEO guidance for investment partners

Two contractors did not ensure a 27-year-old rigger in Florida used required fall safety gear properly, which allowed the worker to fatally plunge 30 stories in Fort Lauderdale.  

McKesson Medical-Surgical Inc., a large national medical supplier, will pay $448,578 in back wages and interest to resolve alleged discrimination against 900 job applicants in Grapevine, Texas.

Our Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections in September at eight mines in seven states where safety concerns demand extra attention.

Fifty-five workers will share more than $109,000 in back wages recovered from a Maryland contractor that failed to properly pay wages and benefits at Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base.

For the third time, investigators found a Temple City, California, home care agency failed to pay required overtime pay rates, this time to 70 employees.

Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Taryn Williams joined "Disability Matters with Joyce Bender" for a policy discussion broadcast in more than 15 countries.

Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Lisa M. Gomez shares insights on her visits to worker-owned businesses and the benefits of employee ownership. 

The Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a Women’s Bureau grantee, explains how they’re partnering with employers to better support survivors of domestic violence.

October was a difficult month for many people across the country, including those impacted by hurricanes in the Southeast. Despite the severe weather and major strike activity, the unemployment rate last month remained low at 4.1 percent, with job gains in health care (+52K) and government (+40K).

Silica is a hazard in many industries. Once released into the air as dust, respirable #silica can lead to potentially fatal illnesses such as silicosis and lung cancer. Learn how to protect workers from silica exposure with our fact sheet. ⤵️ 
https://lnkd.in/gf77AHEr  
-OSHA