CHICAGO, IL – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the FBI has led to prison sentences for two former officials of Orlando, Florida-based First Farmers Financial LLC (FFF). The case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, resulted in guilty pleas by the pair for their involvement in the sale of $179 million in fraudulent loans to a Milwaukee company that provided investment services to 42 retirement plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Th

GUAYNABO, PR – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) continues to investigate wage issues on St. Croix and St. Thomas and provide compliance assistance related to recovery efforts following Hurricanes Maria and Irma. WHD will review employers’ compliance with the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA), and the Fair Labor Stan

TAMPA, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Jasper Contractors Inc. have reached a settlement that resolves a lawsuit filed under the anti-retaliation provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act. In the settlement, Jasper Contractors - headquartered in Kennesaw, Georgia, but performing roofing work in Florida - agreed to pay an employee $48,000 in back wages and compensatory damages. The action follows a former safety director’s allegation that the roofing company fired him after he coope

WILKES-BARRE, PA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the owners of a chain of Pennsylvania bar and grill restaurants have paid $750,007 in back wages and liquidated damages. In a settlement agreement with the Department, Arooga’s Grille House and Sports Bar agreed to pay current and former servers, cooks, and assistant kitchen managers in York, Camp Hill, Lower Paxton, Mechanicsburg, Hanover and Harrisburg for minimum wages and overtime not paid to them over a 30-month period. The 1,039 employees will receive

In the week ending April 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 209,000, a decrease of 24,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since December 6, 1969 when it was 202,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 232,000 to 233,000. The 4-week moving average was 229,250, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 231,250 to 231,500. Read the full release.

FLAGSTAFF, AZ – Major League Painting Inc. will pay $242,618 in back wages and liquidated damages to 70 employees for violations of the overtime and recordkeeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD). WHD investigators found that the Flagstaff commercial and residential painting contractor violated the FLSA’s overtime requirements when it paid straight time for its employees’ overtime hours instead of the time-and-one-half required by law. Investigators f

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor invites news organizations that wish to participate in press lock-ups to renew or request credentials. The new credentials will be valid beginning in August 2018. News organizations with reporters and correspondents currently attending press lock-ups must reapply and complete the credentialing process described in the Policy Statement and News Organization Agreement. Both news organizations now partici

CHICAGO, IL – Consistent with its mission to protect the American workforce, the U.S. Department of Labor has revoked Rock River Valley Self Help Enterprises, Inc.’s certificate under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) after finding nearly 250 workers with disabilities were being exploited. Section 14(c) of the FLSA is designed to offer more job opportunities for workers with disabilities when their disability affects their productive capacity for the work being performed. After applying for and receiving a certificate from the Department’s

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today released a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) providing guidance to EBSA’s national and regional offices regarding proxy voting, shareholder engagement, and economically targeted investments by fiduciaries of private-sector employee benefit plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The FAB clarifies earlier interpretati

ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute’s Safety, Health, and Environment Services Group; and Georgia Department of Public Health’s Division of Health Protection have formed a two-year alliance to raise awareness about lead exposure. OSHA and its partners will provide employers, industry leaders, and the public with information, guidance, and access to traini

XENIA, OH ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Rural King Supply Inc., a national farm supply company, for failing to maintain forklifts properly at its Xenia facility. The company faces proposed penalties of $258,672. OSHA responded to complaints that Rural King Supply Inc. allowed employees to operate a damaged forklift, despite employees’ reports of faulty brakes. OSHA investigators determined that the company failed to take the forklift out of service, or perform needed repairs. “This

LOS ANGELES, CA – The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has entered a consent judgment ordering Information Networking Company Inc., and its president John Benjamin Riddle, to restore $47,408 to the company’s employee benefit plan. The judgment resolves a January 2018 lawsuit in which the U.S. Department of Labor alleged the defendants failed to remit employee contributions, collect matching employer contributions, and defaulted on a prior settlement agreement with the Department to restore funds owed to the plan. “Plan fid

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered Mr. Good Vape LLC of Chino, California, to reinstate a former manager and pay him $110,000 in compensation after he was fired for claiming the company’s production of flavored liquids for e-cigarette vapor inhalers violated federal environmental law. On May 6, 2015, after learning that the manager reported his concerns to the California Department of Environmental Protection, the company suspended him, then terminated him two days later. An OSH

BELLEVUE, OH ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Bellevue-based plastics company Wilbert Inc. for multiple safety violations after an inspection found employees exposed to fall, machine, and electrical hazards. OSHA proposed penalties of $261,454.  OSHA investigators determined that Wilbert Inc., which operates as Wilbert Plastic Services, exposed its employees to crush injuries, burns, and fall hazards while they conducted maintenance on plastic injection molding presses. Inspectors cited the employ

In the week ending April 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 232,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 233,000. The 4-week moving average was 231,250, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 230,000. Read the full release.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) urges heavy construction employers in 10 metropolitan Utah counties to participate in a wage survey to help establish prevailing wage rates as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.  WHD is collecting data on wages paid to workers on all heavy construction projects active from Aug. 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2017. The survey is not limited to federally funded projects. “Contractor and

KANSAS CITY, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) opened registration for a comprehensive compliance seminar for federal contractors, unions, and workers on the rules governing federal prevailing wage requirements. Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required. WHD will hold the training on June 12-14 at the Holiday Inn-Country Club Plaza, One E 45th St., in Kansas City. The three-day Prevailing Wage Seminar covers how to comply with the wage and fringe benefit requirements that apply to federal contracts and federa

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced approximately $62 million in grants to provide employment assistance and workforce development services to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. Through these grants, the Department’s Indian and Native American Employment and Training program seeks to assist American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians in obtaining employment and increasing wages through job placement, education, and occupational skills development. To help Native Americans become more competitive in the

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) has adopted new regulations that clarify how maximum and minimum compensation rates apply to claims payable under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) and its extensions. The rule will be published in the Federal Register on April 19. Current regulations offer little guid

KIDDER COUNTY, ND – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited excavation contractor Kamphuis Pipeline Company for exposing employees to trench cave-ins and other serious hazards while installing water metering pits and lines. The company faces proposed penalties of $454,750. OSHA inspected the Logan and Kidder Counties water project site in September and October 2017. Inspectors determined that the company failed to protect employees from