LOS ANGELES – A survey of Southern California garment-sewing contractors and manufacturers by the U.S. Department of Labor has found workers making garments sold by many of the nation’s leading fashion retailers often continue to be victims of wage theft and employers’ illegal pay practices.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Employee Benefits Security Administration will reopen the public comment period on the proposed amendment to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 – also known as the Qualified Professional Asset Manager Exemption – until April 6, 2023, to gather additional comments.

Employer:  Force Construction Company Inc., Columbus, Indiana

Investigation findings:  U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators recovered $46,125 in back wages for 35 employees after evaluating the company’s pay practices on 10 government contracts.

Employer:  Ameritalia LLC, operating as Coco’s Italian Market and Restaurants                                                           

Investigation site: 411 51st Avenue N., Nashville, TN 37209

NEW CASTLE, PA – A federal investigation into why a 17-year-old worker – who fell 24 feet from the roof of a New Castle, Pennsylvania, home improvement store in October 2022 – was doing work that violated child labor laws led to a wider review into how the roofing contractor failed to pay 30 employees their full wages and exposed other workers to dangerous fall hazards.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has requested that a federal court in Vermont allow the department to intervene and seek the court’s dismissal of a counterclaim that Bimbo Bakeries USA Inc. – one of the nation’s largest baking companies – has asserted against its own workers who are seeking the overtime compensation that they are allegedly owed.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has certified the completion of all structural and developmental aspects of Maine’s State Plan for protecting the safety and health of state and local government workers.

SAN DIEGO - En su esfuerzo continuo por combatir los abusos hacia los trabajadores extranjeros por parte de las industrias de logística y almacenamiento en el sur de California, el Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. ha recuperado $1.1 millones de dos empresas que operan en la zona de San Diego (Freig Carrillo Forwarding Inc. y ACV Logistics Inc.) para 50 ciudadanos mexicanos a quienes solo se les pagaba $2.43 por hora.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $633,029 in back wages for 84 workers denied their full wages and benefits by subcontractors involved in construction of an affordable housing development funded by the District of Columbia.

Employer name:                   Amazing Grace PCA LLC

Investigation site:                7321 Bullard Ave.

                                                          Orleans, LA 70128

WASHINGTON – The U.S.

SAN DIEGO – In its continuing effort to combat labor abuses of foreign workers in Southern California’s logistics and warehousing industries, the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $1.1 million from two companies operating in the San Diego area – Freig Carrillo Forwarding Inc. and ACV Logistics Inc. – for 50 Mexican nationals, some paid as little as $2.43 an hour.

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit asking a federal court to stop a Brooklyn, New York, healthcare staffing provider from allegedly making employees sign contracts that would force them to work for the company for three years or repay rightfully earned wages.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that it will open its online tool for federal contractors and subcontractors to certify their compliance with annual federal affirmative action program requirements.

ALGOOD, TN – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $42,373 for 44 employees after finding an Algood restaurant illegally kept tips that employees earned.

WASHINGTON – To help identify and address barriers workers face regarding access to state unemployment insurance benefits, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of nearly $20 million in equity grants to Florida, Mississippi, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $15 million in grant funding to support programs that help youth – particularly those in rural areas, people of color and people with disabilities – to overcome obstacles to educational and workforce success with training and career guidance.   

BIRMINGHAM, AL - El trabajo en una instalación de captura de aves de corral es duro, donde las personas se enfrentan comúnmente a los riesgos de trabajar con equipos peligrosos, en suelos resbaladizos, alrededor de productos químicos peligrosos, y están expuestos a la posibilidad de enfermedad para aquellos que manipulan aves vivas y los residuos y el polvo que producen.

BIRMINGHAM, AL – Work in a poultry catching facility is hard, where people commonly face the risks of working with dangerous equipment, on slippery floors, around hazardous chemicals, and are exposed to the possibility of illness for those handling live birds and the waste and dust they produce. Standing for long hours also greatly increases the risks of musculoskeletal disorders.