April 9, 2024

US Department of Labor seeking workers owed wages, benefits denied by Libertytown plumbing subcontractor after investigation recovers $156K

LIBERTYTOWN, MD – Individuals employed by a Libertytown plumbing subcontractor who worked on a Woodyard Station construction project may be eligible to receive their share of $156,495 in wages and fringe benefits recovered by a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

April 8, 2024

US Department of Labor finds electric vehicle battery maker again exposes workers to serious health hazards after investigation of Commerce fire

ATLANTA – For the second time in less than a year, federal workplace safety inspectors have found a global electric vehicle battery manufacturer exposing employees to serious safety and health hazards at its Commerce plant, after workers suffered potentially permanent respiratory damage in an October 2023 lithium battery fire.

April 8, 2024

US Department of Labor awards Pennsylvania $2.9M in funding to support employment, training services in communities affected by opioid crisis

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $2.9 million in grant funding to Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry to assist people affected by the health and economic effects of widespread opioid use, addiction and overdose.

April 5, 2024

Department of Labor finds two employees worked for free to pay for hotel lodging, Michigan operator denied them and other workers full wages

IONIA, MI ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered a total of $110,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for six employees of an Ionia hotel, including two who worked there for more than 40 hours per week for nearly 10 months without pay. The couple thought they were working in exchange for free lodging at the hotel, but the hotel still charged them for their stay on some nights they worked.

April 5, 2024

Biden-Harris administration makes initial award of $3.5 million to Maryland to support temporary clean-up, recovery jobs following Key Bridge tragedy

WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris administration today announced an initial award of $3.5 million in emergency dislocated worker grant funding to the state of Maryland to support cleanup and recovery activities after a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s support pylons on March 26, 2024, causing the bridge to collapse.

Workers whose jobs were impacted, due to no fault of their own, will have access to new training and may have their wages subsidized if they are engaged in post-disaster employment activities. 

April 5, 2024

Department of Labor joins other departments, agencies to call for fairness, equality, justice, compliance in use of AI, automated systems

WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Labor has joined other federal departments and agencies calling for fairness, equality, justice and compliance as automated systems — including artificial intelligence or “AI” — become more commonly used. The department also emphasized that existing legal authorities apply to the use of automated systems and new technologies as they apply to other practices.

April 5, 2024

Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Su on March jobs report

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement on the March 2024 Employment Situation report: 

“Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 303,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.8 percent. This report once again demonstrates steady growth and a strong labor market with a three-month average of 276,000 in job gains. The jobless rate has been below 4 percent for the 26th month in a row — the longest stretch in more than 50 years. 

April 5, 2024

St. Louis contractor faces $267K in fines after again exposing roofing workers to potentially deadly fall hazards, this time at 5 Wentzville job sites

ST. LOUIS – Federal workplace safety inspectors found a Missouri roofing contractor again risking the safety of its employees by failing to protect them against the construction industry’s deadliest hazard — falls from heights— at five residential worksites in Wentzville in October and November 2023. 

April 4, 2024

US Department of Labor extends comment period for joint request on retirement plan benefits information provided to workers, federal government

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Department of the Treasury, IRS and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. have jointly extended the comment period soliciting public input on existing reporting and disclosure requirements for retirement plans. 

April 4, 2024

US Department of Labor to provide benefits outreach for current, former nuclear weapons workers in Portsmouth, Ohio

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor will host an information session on April 10 in Portsmouth, Ohio, for current and former nuclear weapons workers and their families employed at covered facilities on the benefits available under the federal Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. 

April 4, 2024

Court orders holiday wreaths producer to pay $1.8M in back wages, damages to 700 workers; wage investigation began after van crash injured workers

SEATTLE – A federal court has ordered a producer of Christmas wreaths and seasonal greens for major retailers — including Costco, Publix, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Wegmans — to pay $1.85 million in back wages and damages to nearly 700 workers after the U.S. Department of Labor found the employer failed to pay required overtime wages and violated migrant and seasonal workers’ rights.

April 4, 2024

US Department of Labor announces $49.2M in available funding to support career training, wraparound services to connect rural workers with good jobs

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $49.2 million in funding to provide career training services to prepare workers in the Appalachian, Lower Mississippi Delta and Northern Border regions to obtain quality jobs. 

April 4, 2024

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending March 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 221,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 210,000 to 212,000. The 4-week moving average was 214,250, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 211,000 to 211,500.

April 3, 2024

Department of Labor, Office of US Trade Representative find labor rights denial at Tizapa mine in Zacazonapan, Mexico

WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement today requested the Mexican government conduct a review based on its finding that a denial of workers’ rights has occurred at Minera Tizapa S.A. de C.V., in Zacazonapan.

April 3, 2024

Department of Labor investigation finds one of the nation’s largest modular home manufacturers exposed workers to dozens of safety, health risks

AUSTIN, TX An Austin subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest producers of modular and manufactured homes faces $272,479 in penalties after federal investigators found the company exposing employees to more than two dozen serious violations during an October 2023 inspection.

April 3, 2024

US Department of Labor survey depends on Guam’s construction employers to complete wage survey, establish accurate prevailing wages, benefits

DEDEDO, Guam – The U.S. Department of Labor encourages construction industry employers in Guam to participate in a survey to help establish accurate prevailing wage rates and reduce the need for contractors to seek additional labor classifications.

April 2, 2024

US Department of Labor to award up to $67.1M to help youth, young adults with disabilities overcome obstacles to employment

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $10.5 million to fund the first year of four, five-year cooperative agreements aimed at developing strategies to assist youth and young adults with disabilities — particularly in underserved communities — in successfully transitioning into the workforce.

The awards have been granted to the Connecticut Department of Labor, Kansas Department of Commerce, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and the New York Department of Labor.

April 2, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers $125K in back wages for 23 workers after finding Lexington pub, restaurant operated invalid tip pool

Employer:                             Krafty Draft Brew Pub LLC

                                                269 Charter Oak Road 

April 2, 2024

US Department of Labor announces final amendment to ‘QPAM exemption’

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Employee Benefits Security Administration has released a final amendment to Class Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-14, also known as the Qualified Professional Asset Manager Exemption, which permits various parties related to employee benefit plans and individual retirement accounts to engage in transactions involving plan and IRA assets.