March 8, 2022

Court orders Akron promotional products company to pay $189K in back wages, damages to workers after US Labor Department investigation

YOUNGSTOWN, OH – A federal judge ordered American Made Bags LLC in Akron and its owner to pay a total of $189,756 – $94,893 in back wages and an equal amount in damages – to 48 employees after two separate federal investigations found numerous illegal pay practices.

March 8, 2022

US Department of Labor announces $85M in available funding to support underserved youth, young adults in communities stricken with violence, poverty

WASHINGTON While the causes are many and the remedies sometimes complex, the reality for young people from ages 10 to 24 in the nation’s underserved communities is sadly simple: violence and poverty is stopping many from realizing their potential and blocking access to equity in education and employment.   

March 8, 2022

Court orders home care agency to pay more than $4.5M in back wages, damages to 503 workers after US Department of Labor investigation, litigation

UPPER DARBY, PA – A federal court has ordered an Upper Darby home healthcare agency to pay $4,544,872 in back wages and liquidated damages after U.S. Department of Labor investigators found that the employer misclassified some workers as independent contractors, which denied 503 home health aides their rightfully earned overtime wages.

March 7, 2022

Federal judge orders Hannibal cement mine to pay $17.5K penalty for shorting pay of worker who assisted safety inspectors

HANNIBAL, MO – A federal administrative law judge in Washington, D.C., has ordered a Hannibal cement company to pay a worker the company penalized for assisting federal safety investigators during a site visit.

March 7, 2022

Readout: Deputy Undersecretary Lee visits Democratic Republic of Congo, meets officials to discuss mining industry labor rights

WASHINGTON – In the first visit by a high-level U.S. Department of Labor official to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in nearly 20 years, Deputy Undersecretary of Labor for International Affairs Thea Lee met from Feb. 28 to March 2 with the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi, other high-ranking officials and with union leaders, business executives, members of Parliament and others, to discuss strengthening and enforcing workers’ rights, especially in the minerals sector.

March 7, 2022

US Departments of Labor, Transportation announce cooperative effort to advance infrastructure jobs for underrepresented populations

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg today announced a partnership with the signing of a memorandum of understanding to promote the creation of good infrastructure and transportation jobs with a focus on equitable workforce development using funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

March 7, 2022

US Department of Labor recovers $158K in back wages, damages for 91 workers at California warehouse after employer failed to pay workers

BUENA PARK, CA – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation recovered $158,096 in back wages and liquidated damages for employees of a global medical products manufacturer that failed to pay workers, putting many of them at risk of being unable to provide for their basic needs.

March 7, 2022

US Department of Labor announces availability of $55M in grants to provide pre-release training, employment services to incarcerated people

WASHINGTON – Each year, state prisons release approximately 573,000 people who need the resources and support to re-enter and find stable employment in their communities successfully.

March 7, 2022

Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. recupera $169,000 en salarios atrasados, daños para 118 trabajadores de restaurantes en Oregón

PORTLAND, OR - El Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. hace cumplir las leyes que protegen los derechos de los trabajadores. También responsabiliza a los empleadores sin escrúpulos que defraudan a sus trabajadores, como sucedió con 118 empleados de tres restaurantes de Oregón después de que una investigación revelara el robo de salarios y otras infracciones.

March 7, 2022

Una empresa de jardinería de Carolina del Sur paga $34,000 dólares en salarios atrasados y multas después de que el Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. descubriera violaciones de los trabajadores invitados H-2B

WALTERBORO, SC - Una investigación del Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. descubrió que una empresa de jardinería de Walterboro no reembolsó a los trabajadores empleados en EE.UU. bajo el programa de trabajadores invitados H-2B sus gastos de traslados y no pagó las tarifas salariales como se requiere.

March 7, 2022

South Carolina landscaping company pays $34K in back wages, penalties after US Department of Labor finds H-2B guest worker violations

WALTERBORO, SC A U.S. Department of Labor investigation found a Walterboro landscaping company failed to reimburse workers employed in the U.S. under the H-2B guest worker program for their travel costs and failed to pay wage rates as required.

March 7, 2022

US Department of Labor announces final amendments to six class exemptions

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a final notice of amendments to six class exemptions from the prohibited transaction rules in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code. 

March 7, 2022

US Department of Labor finds employer’s pay practices denied 119 Ohio healthcare workers $603K in overtime back wages

COLUMBUS, OH– Home healthcare workers assist their clients with daily living tasks and even stay overnight at their homes to provide around-the-clock care. Despite their essential labor, these workers are sometimes denied all their rightful wages by their employer’s illegal pay practices, as federal investigators found in a recent labor investigation in Columbus.

March 7, 2022

Getting their full cut: US Department of Labor recovers $331K in back wages for 413 Sioux City slaughterhouse workers

SIOUX CITY, IA – Slaughterhouse workers spend long hours on their feet to process livestock and put beef, pork and other meats on the nation’s dinner tables – essential work that keeps Americans fed. For their labor, employers are legally required to ensure these workers are paid all their rightful wages.

March 7, 2022

US Department of Labor serves up $188K in back wages, damages for 104 workers at three Chicago pizzerias as employer tries to defy investigators

CHICAGO – While Sarpino’s Pizzeria locations in Chicago promise quick delivery when customers call, the business’ operator was much less responsive when U.S. Department of Labor investigators chose to review the employer’s pay practices.

In fact, investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division needed a subpoena to obtain employees’ pay records and it soon became clear why the owner refused to cooperate.

March 7, 2022

US Department of Labor recovers $39K in back wages, damages for 19 workers under federal contract at FAA facility in Pensacola

PENSACOLA, FL – A commercial cleaning contractor shortchanged 19 workers at a Federal Aviation Administration worksite in Pensacola by failing to combine hours worked at different job sites and not paying prevailing wages and benefits required on federally funded contracts, the U.S. Department of Labor has found.

March 4, 2022

US Department of Labor initiative seeks to protect Midwest workers from dangers of hazardous noise levels, including permanent hearing loss

KANSAS CITY, MO ‒ More than one in 10 people endure workplace noise levels loud enough to damage their hearing while seven in 10 experience moderately loud noise levels, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Yet, in 2020, the bureau found that about half the nation’s workers reported

March 4, 2022

Florida employer to pay $165K in back wages, $75K in penalties for shorting H-2A workers’ wages, subjecting them to unsanitary living conditions

KANSAS CITY, MO – After long days spent toiling in fields under a hot Missouri sun, immigrant workers returned to what was once a county jail where their employer housed them in unsanitary living conditions and added to their misery by failing to pay them the wages they earned under their contract.