NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX – The U.S. Department of Labor has taken legal action against two North Texas dentists on behalf of a dental hygienist and a dental assistant who were not reinstated after expressing concerns about what coronavirus safety measures would be in place when the practice reopened in spring 2020.  

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced $92.6 million in funding to 47 states to provide training and employment services to eligible workers affected adversely by foreign trade.

LAKELAND, FL – Piece-rate pay practices make workers’ paychecks solely dependent on the amount of work produced, regardless of how many hours are worked. When using these practices, however, employers must still comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act and record all hours worked, pay minimum wage and overtime when applicable.

In the week ending July 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 360,000, a decrease of 26,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 13,000 from 373,000 to 386,000. The 4-week moving average was 382,500, a decrease of 14,500 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,500 from 394,500 to 397,000.

HUNTSVILLE, AL – On Jan. 15 an employee of a Huntsville contracting company entered a trench greater than 5 feet in depth to work on underground utility pipes.

FAYETTEVILLE, NC – Hotels commonly pay housekeepers on a piece-rate basis, often basing their pay on the number of rooms they cleaned or tasks they accomplished. When that approach allows workers’ wages to fall below the federal minimum wage, the employer has violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

WASHINGTON, DC – In collaboration with the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. Department of Labor today issued an updated Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory.

MILWAUKEE – Despite two 2020 inspections that identified dangerous machine and noise hazards, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found a Milwaukee metal fabricating facility continues to put its workers’ safety and health at risk.

MANCHESTER, NH – The operator of two specialty grocery stores in New Hampshire and Maine, has paid $27,274 in civil money penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor after an investigation found that the employer employed minors to clean power-driven meat mixers and grinders. Federal child labor laws prohibit employees under 18 from cleaning or operating these machines.

CHICAGO – To combat the dangers workers face in grain handling, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Ohio On-Site Consultation Program, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the Ohio Agribusiness Association signed an alliance on July 9, 2021.

BUFFALO – On July 7, 2020, 35-year-old Timothy Barber collapsed at the end of his shift after working on the Genesee River Bridge Project in Geneseo. Treated for heat stress and heat exhaustion, he died from hyperthermia on his second day on the job.

GALLATIN, TN – A Mississippi-based plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning contractor with 10 Southeast locations and nearly 75 years of experience has learned that federal contract wage violations can be costly.

WASHINGTON, DC – On Thursday, July 8, the U.S. and Mexico announced a comprehensive plan to ensure that international labor standards are being enforced at the General Motors’ facility in Silao, Mexico. This effort represents the first step of remediation under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Through this type of enforcement, American workers are protected from unfair trade practices and are able to compete and succeed in the manufacturing sector.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s issuance of an interim final rule implementing Special Financial Assistance to financially troubled multiemployer pension plans:

COLUMBIA, MD – A Columbia plumbing subcontractor working on a federally funded project in Washington, D.C. failed to pay workers all the wages they earned, until a U.S. Department of Labor investigation recovered $50,088 in back wages and benefits for four employees. 

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration urges response crews and residents to recognize the hazards created by flooding, power loss, structural damage, fallen trees and storm debris in areas affected by Tropical Storm Elsa.

MANCHESTER, NH – A North Carolina-based tree thinning contractor who employed foreign forestry workers in Maine as fir-tippers has paid a total of $55,810 in civil money penalties to the U.S. Department of Labor to resolve violations of federal laws protecting migrant and seasonal workers, and preventing adverse conditions for U.S. workers. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges ordered the resolution in a decision and order approving consent findings.

In the week ending July 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 373,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 7,000 from 364,000 to 371,000. The 4-week moving average was 394,500, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,000 from 392,750 to 394,750.

SEATTLE – Pipe fitters, electricians, forklift operators and carpenters working on two separate federally funded contracts on Naval Base Kitsap failed to receive the prevailing wages and benefits required for their occupations because their employer classified them incorrectly as lower-compensated general laborers.

MANCHESTER, NH – Pizza shops rely on drivers to make timely deliveries to their customers. These drivers depend on their employers to pay them their hard-earned wages, as the law requires. When Checkmate Pizza in Concord and Londonderry failed to deliver all the wages drivers had earned, the U.S. Department of Labor stepped in.