WASHINGTON – The increased demand and the constraints on the global supply chain have combined to place enormous strain on the nation’s warehouse and logistics industries, and has prompted the U.S. Department of Labor to take heightened action to ensure that warehouse and logistics workers’ wages and workplace rights are protected.

UNION, NJ – A federal court in New Jersey ordered an electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning company based in Union, and its two co-managers, to pay 89 electricians, electrician helpers and HVAC technicians after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found the defendants deliberately denied overtime.

INDIANAPOLIS – An Indianapolis employer assigned home healthcare workers to shifts at two related companies but failed to combine the hours, denying them earned overtime pay when they worked more than 40 hours per week for the same employer.

WASHINGTON – In 2021, the pandemic forced 17 employers in Maine’s coastal region, including Abbott Labs, B&M Baked Beans and Country Manor Nursing Home, to lay off more than 500 workers, which has prompted the U.S. Department of Labor to award a grant to help prepare these workers for new employment opportunities.  

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an incremental award of $1.7 million to the Government of Guam to support continued disaster-relief employment and workforce development in response to the effects of the pandemic in the U.S. territory.

Who:               Marvin, West Fargo South, West Fargo, North Dakota

What:             Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Voluntary Protection Program  Star Level Designation

Background: Marvin, a West Fargo door manufacturer, has earned recognition for its proactive safety and health programs leading to designation as a Star Level VPP.

WINTER PARK, FL – A Winter Park bakery engaged a 13-year-old worker as an unpaid volunteer, and risked the child’s safety by allowing them to operate a power-driven bread slicer, in violation of federal laws governing pay practices and child labor.

WASHINGTON – During the height of the pandemic, records were broken as millions of Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits. As demand soared, the U.S. Department of Labor provided instructions to states to administer payments under several programs authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

WASHINGTON – The White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment today released its report which details nearly 70 recommendations – approved by President Biden – that promote worker organizing and collective bargaining for public and private sector employees.  

MIRAMAR BEACH, FL – A federal investigation has recovered $47,088 for 30 employees from the operator of a Miramar Beach restaurant who denied them their rightfully earned overtime wages. 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on the January 2022 Employment Situation Report:

BOWLING GREEN, KY – What started as an investigation of a single Bowling Green-based caregiving provider became a sweeping review of six other franchise locations across three states when investigators uncovered systemic violations by the employer.

WASHINGTON – From Feb. 1 through Feb. 2, approximately 5,400 workers – nearly 90 percent of eligible workers – cast votes in an historic election at the General Motors’ facility in Silao, Mexico, to determine which of the four unions on the ballot will exercise collective bargaining rights.

HENDERSON, TX – A federal investigation into fatal injuries suffered by an 86-year-old worker at a Henderson sawmill and pallet manufacturer found the company exposed workers to hazardous energy sources and lack of machine guarding.

In the week ending January 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 238,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 260,000 to 261,000. The 4-week moving average was 255,000, an increase of 7,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 247,000 to 247,250.

Employer name: Sinclair & Rush Inc.

Employer address: 640 Dell Road, Carlstadt, New Jersey 07072

Citations issued: On Jan. 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 10 serious and one other-than-serious safety and health citations.

DETROIT – A federal judge has signed a consent order and judgment against a Madison Heights company and ordered fiduciaries of the company’s retirement plan to restore $50,764 in employee payroll-deducted retirement contributions and lost opportunity costs to the plan, and pay a $10,153 penalty for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

PAGO PAGO, AS – A federal investigation recovered $23,358 in back wages for eight employees of a Pago Pago employer who failed to pay eight workers for work performed before and after their scheduled shifts. The employer required the work but failed to record the time and pay for the hours. Additionally, the employer illegally deducted meal breaks and lodging costs from worker’s pay.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Wage and Hour Division is seeking to add 100 investigators to its team to support its enforcement efforts including the protection of workers’ wages, migrant and seasonal workers, rights to family and medical leave and prevailing wage requirements for workers on federal contracts.

SEATTLE – A federal investigation recovered $96,973 in back wages and liquidated damages from the operator of 11 frozen yogurt shops in Washington and Oregon who allowed store managers to take a portion of workers’ tips illegally, and failed to pay some workers overtime wages when they worked over 40 hours in a workweek. The employer also did not keep an accurate record of hours worked.