MULBERRY, FL – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation determined a Mulberry phosphatic fertilizer manufacturer failed to follow required safety standards, leading to the tragic loss of a 29-year-old process operator in July 2024. 

Date of action:           Dec. 12, 2024

Type of action:          Consent judgment

Employers:                 MSES Consultants Inc., Lawrence Rine

Employer name:               CREOKS Health Services, operating as TruHealth Integrated Care

Investigation sites:         4103 South Yale Ave., Suite C 

NEW ORLEANS – The findings of two recent U.S. Department of Labor investigations show misclassification of employees as independent contractors is an ongoing concern for home care industry workers in Louisiana and throughout the nation as the practice deprives them of their full wages and other important benefits.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today approved up to $10 million – with $1 million released initially – in emergency grant funding to California to support disaster-relief jobs and training services for those affected by the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Employee Benefits Security Administration has issued a proposed regulation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act on the valuation of employer stock acquired or sold by an employee stock ownership plan. 

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL – A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found that a drainpipe cleaning and maintenance company could have prevented an explosion at a Port Saint Lucie worksite in June 2024 that claimed a 24-year-old worker’s life, by implementing proper safety measures to address the hazards of inflatable pipe plugs.      

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections in December 2024 at 13 mines in Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia, and issued 119 violations. 

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into an agreement with a Tennessee cleaning contractor that requires the employer to pay $400,000 in civil money penalties, monitor and audit policies to prevent the employment of children in dangerous jobs, and maintain a toll-free number for reporting concerns about the illegal employment of children.

In the week ending January 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 217,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 201,000 to 203,000. The 4-week moving average was 212,750, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 213,000 to 213,500.

Employer:      Green Maintenance Services Inc., Jan Jarosz

Action:            Fair Labor Standards Act consent judgment and order

Courts:           U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Chicago

FARMINGTON HILLS, MI – A Farmington Hills Little Caesars restaurant employed minors in violation of federal child labor regulations by assigning them to operating dangerous equipment such as dough mixers and ovens and allowing  three 15-year-olds to work past 7 p.m. on school nights. 

PHILADELPHIA ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into an agreement with Perdue Farms Inc. and secured a separate agreement with temporary staffing agency Staff Management Solutions LLC and SMX LLC, collectively referred to as “SMX,” to address child labor violations found in an investigation of Perdue’s poultry processing facility in Accomac, Virginia. 

PORTLAND, OR – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment requiring Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. and the R.B. Pamplin Corp. to restore at least $20,600,000 in assets to the company’s pension plan after the plan’s unlawful acquisition of company-owned real estate  jeopardized the retirement security of thousands of the company’s employees.

WASHINGTON  – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $17 million in grant funding to support organizations working to help homeless veterans and those at risk of homelessness by providing training and employment services. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has terminated its COVID-19 healthcare rulemaking.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced an enforcement relief policy to provide retirement plan fiduciaries with an option to help manage small benefit amounts owed to individuals who cannot be located.

CHAMBERSBURG, PA – A Chambersburg soap and detergent manufacturer faces $161,310 in federal penalties after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation of a chemical gas release that sent a dozen workers to the hospital in July 2024.

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RALEIGH, NC – El Departamento de Trabajo de Estados Unidos ha excluido a un padre y a su hija de Snow Hill durante tres años de un programa federal por infracciones extensas de las regulaciones federales.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced updates to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program, providing employers and other plan officials with more efficient ways to voluntarily correct compliance issues in retirement, health and other employee benefit plans.