WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor took a range of actions to aid American workers and employers as our nation combats the coronavirus pandemic.

Reopening America’s Economy:

WASHINGTON, DC – Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited 37 establishments for violations, resulting in proposed penalties totaling $484,069.

OSHA inspections have resulted in the agency citing employers for violations, including failures to:

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued temporary guidance for enforcing initial and annual fit-testing requirements related to tight-fitting powered air-purifying respirators. The action marks the Department’s latest step to ensure the availability of respirators and follows President Donald J.

GALLATIN, TN – Solstice Sleep Products Inc. – a Columbus, Ohio-based sleep product manufacturer – has paid $868 in back wages after wrongly denying emergency paid sick leave to an employee at its Gallatin, Tennessee, location who self-quarantined after receiving a coronavirus diagnosis.

HARTFORD, CT – Yale University, a private university, will pay $87,500 to resolve alleged pay discrimination at the university’s New Haven, Connecticut, campus.

COVINGTON, GA – Nicholas Security Commercial LLC – a Covington, Georgia-based home security company – has paid $1,153 in back wages after wrongly denying emergency paid sick leave to an employee who self-quarantined after receiving a coronavirus diagnosis.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia issued the following statement on the September 2020 Employment Situation Report:

WASHINGTON, DC – President Donald J. Trump has issued a proclamation commemorating October 2020 as National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) and encouraging workplaces and communities across the nation to honor the occasion through a variety of events and activities.

PROVIDENCE, RI – After a routine compliance review by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Locke Lord LLP – a federal contractor formerly known as Edwards Wildman – voluntarily entered into a conciliation agreement to resolve allegations of pay discrimination at its Providence, Rhode Island, office.  

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Raytheon Technologies as the first Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Program (IRAP), a major milestone in this Administration’s goal to expand apprenticeships and create more job opportunities for American workers. The National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS) serves as the Standards Recognition Entity (SRE) overseeing Raytheon’s program. NIMS was recognized by the Department on Sept.

LEXINGTON, KY – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky has sentenced Aaron Jamison – founder, owner and president of Micah Group LLC and Micah Group Environmental Contractors Inc.

In the week ending September 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 837,000, a decrease of 36,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 3,000 from 870,000 to 873,000. The 4-week moving average was 867,250, a decrease of 11,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 750 from 878,250 to 879,000.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published additional frequently asked questions and answers (FAQs) regarding the need to report employees’ in-patient hospitalizations and fatalities resulting from work-related cases of the coronavirus.

WASHINGTON, DC – At Naval Air Station Jacksonville today, Second Lady of the United States Karen Pence and U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia announced the launch of a new Transition Assistance Program (TAP) workshop for military spouses. TAP is administered by the Department’s Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS).

ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has awarded $400,000 in funding through its Brookwood-Sago grant program to support education and training to help identify, avoid and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around the nation’s mines. 

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced additional funding for an opioid-crisis National Health Emergency Dislocated Worker Grant for the Cherokee Nation. The award of $1,998,834 will provide continued employment and training services to eligible individuals in communities across 14 counties included in the tribal jurisdiction that are affected significantly by the health and economic effects of widespread opioid use, addiction and overdose.

BILLINGS, MT – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has renewed separate alliances with the Montana Contractors Association (MCA) and Montana Contractors Compensation Fund (MCCF) to address safety and health hazards at worksites throughout the state.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) posted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would increase and enhance financial transparency for unions regulated by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA).  

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today released a list of 17 goods produced in China under conditions of forced labor in violation of international standards. The list includes five new goods added in 2020 – including gloves, hair products, textiles, thread/yarn and tomato products – all of which are linked to state-sponsored forced labor by ethnic and Muslim minorities.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia traveled to Buffalo, New York, where he met with local business and community leaders during a roundtable discussion on safely reopening the nation’s economy. Buffalo was the final stop in Secretary Scalia’s three-city tour, which included Cleveland, Ohio, and Erie, Pennsylvania, where he highlighted the Administration’s efforts to get Americans back to work safely.