PORTLAND, OR – As the summer hiring season looms, employers are offering more opportunities for youth-aged workers to earn money and gain work experience than in recent years. In preparation for their early ventures into the working world, young workers should familiarize themselves – and employers should review practices and ensure compliance –with federal labor laws designed to ensure that the experience is rewarding and safe.

BRECKENRIDGE, CO – One worker suffered fatal injuries and two co-workers barely escaped similar fates when they were rescued from a trench that collapsed as they installed sewer pipes in a Breckenridge neighborhood on Nov. 16, 2021.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor will offer online compliance seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders to provide information on the requirements governing payment of prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

Employer name:                     Morales Plumbing LLC

Investigation site:                  Meadows at Nicholson Family Apartments

                                                         11777 Nicholson Drive

Employer:                                 The Kroger Co. Inc.

Investigation site:                3095 Goodman Road

                                                       Southaven, MS 38672

SIOUX FALLS, SD - After severe weather, such as the windstorm that roared across South Dakota on May 12, workers and others involved in storm cleanup may face hazards related to falls, downed power lines and sharp debris as they conduct recovery and cleanup operations.

Employers and workers should also be aware of heat illness and hazards from equipment used during response/recovery operations, such as chain saws.

US Department of Labor recovers $198K for 19 workers denied overtime pay by Lynchburg, Virginia, restaurant

Employer name:                   

Jalisco Inc., doing business as La Carreta Mexican Restaurant

8210 Timberlake Road, Lynchburg, VA 24502

Investigation findings:         

CAMBRIA, WI – A federal grand jury has indicted the operator and six management officials of a Cambria corn mill – where a May 31, 2017, explosion killed five workers and injured 15 others – on nine criminal counts, including two counts related to willful violations of federal workplace safety standards for grain handling.

SAN FRANCISCO – Migrant workers in the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program provide critical seasonal labor on farms across California, spending weeks away from home doing the grueling work needed to support the state’s $49 billion agricultural industry.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee met recently with Malaysia’s Minister of Human Resources Datuk Seri Saravanan Murugan to discuss issues of forced labor, worker voice, and protection of labor rights in the context of bilateral engagement and technical assistance work.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh joined business leaders for panel discussion today on how private-sector employers can recruit, retain and strengthen their workforce through investments in job quality.

MOUNT VERNON, IL – In two separate incidents on consecutive days in November 2021, three workers at a southern Illinois tire plant suffered severe injuries in incidents associated with a mixer containing a combustible dust and a flammable gas, guarding moving equipment and the failure to implement and enforce procedures to control the unintentional energization of equipment during servicing.

WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court has ruled unanimously that the operator of a Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, coal mine violated the federal Mine Safety and Health Act more than a decade ago by giving underground miners advance notice that mine inspectors were conducting an inspection.

CHICAGO ─ The U.S. Department of Labor will hold an online listening session for Midwest workers, employers and other stakeholders on May 20, 2022, on possible revisions to the regulations that enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act’s minimum wage and overtime exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that its Employment and Training Administration has issued guidance to inform states and outlying areas about their formula allotments and the process to apply for certain programs for the start of the program year on July 1, 2022.

JERSEY CITY, NJ – A federal investigation of a Jersey City electrical subcontractor on a federally funded residential townhome and apartments project in Paterson found the employer paid 11 electricians wages and fringe benefits at the lower rate paid to laborers, a violation of the law.

WASHINGTON – On May 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee met with Vietnam’s Minister for Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Đào Ngọc Dung to discuss labor issues of mutual interest.

Employer name:                   Pictometry International Corp., doing business as EagleView Technologies Inc., 25 Methodist Hill Drive, Rochester, N.Y. 14623

BOSTON – As temperatures rise in New England, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration reminds employers and workers not to ignore the dangers of working in hot weather – indoors and out – and remember that “Water. Rest. Shade.” can be the difference between ending the workday safely or suffering serious injuries or worse.

In the week ending May 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 203,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 200,000 to 202,000. The 4-week moving average was 192,750, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 188,000 to 188,500.