AMBLER, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order to enable the recovery of $317,097 in back wages for three U.S. and 56 workers from Mexico employed by an Ambler, Pennsylvania, swimming pool subcontractor under the federal H-2B guest worker visa program.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an incremental award of $90,188 to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development to provide continued reemployment and training services to people in the Lower Merrimack Valley affected by manufacturing industry layoffs. 

PRESCOTT, AZ – Federal safety inspectors found that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs endangered maintenance workers at its healthcare facility in Prescott by allowing them to work on steam lines without ensuring they followed required safety procedures.

Employer:      Town and Country Inc., Cleveland, Missouri

Actions:          Filing of Fair Labor Standards Act complaint in federal court

Request for administrative judicial hearing

Courts:           U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Western Division

SAN BERNADINO, CA – A San Bernardino home contractor has paid nearly $320,000 after willfully denying overtime wages to 143 painters and other employees, after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

WASHINGTON - To continue its support of the Biden-Harris administration’s historic infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy investments, the U.S.

WASHINGTON – To help workers access new, high-quality career opportunities in rural communities, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $44.2 million in funding in Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities initiative demonstration grants.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Mine Safety and Health Administration is making $10.5 million grant funding available to help provide mine safety training for the nation’s miners.

MAPLESVILLE, AL – Federal workplace safety inspectors examining how a 36-year-old worker suffered fatal electrocution in a Maplesville paper mill found his employer willfully violating safety standards, including disregarding hazardous energy control procedures that protect employees performing maintenance on machinery.

In the week ending April 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 239,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 228,000. The 4-week moving average was 240,000, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 237,750.

WASHINGTON – At Dollar General stores near Houston and Green Bay, federal workplace safety inspectors found exit routes and walkways blocked — unsafe conditions that make safe and quick emergency evacuation difficult or impossible — that have become common discoveries for years at stores operated by one of the nation’s largest discount retailers.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Wage and Hour Division will host an online seminar on April 18 at 1 p.m. EDT on the proper employment of temporary nonimmigrant workers with H-2B guest visas for employers, worker advocates and other stakeholders, as part of an ongoing division initiative to ensure that Midwest employers comply with federal laws governing the program.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the initial award of a $7,469,452 grant to California for cleanup and recovery activities after severe winter storms in December and January caused flooding and extensive waterway damage.

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration will join construction organizations in Georgia to promote worker safety and encourage industry employers to hold safety stand-downs at roadwork sites and in traffic work zones during National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 17 to 21.

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and WeCount!

What:             Safety alliance agreement

Employer:      Haza Bell of Nebraska LLC operating as Taco Bell

                       320 11 St. SW

                       Spencer, Iowa

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators recovered $22,744 – representing $11,372 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages – for 12 workers at the Spencer, Iowa, Taco Bell.

ATLANTA – With violations of child labor laws up 69 percent since 2018 and millions of minor-aged workers joining the U.S. workforce each year – many in seasonal summer jobs in the restaurant, retail and amusement industries – the U.S. Department of Labor is actively working to educate Southeast employers about their legal obligations and make sure young employees are kept safe at work and paid fully.

Participant:   Tiverton Power

Tiverton, Rhode Island

Description:   Tiverton Power employs about 20 workers at this site, a natural gas power plant generating electricity for the New England power grid.   

DETROIT – The demands of the job sometimes require employees in the healthcare industry to work through their meal periods but as many employers – including Detroit Medical Center – learn eventually, federal law says these employees must be paid when their duties demand they work through or during meal periods.

Participant:   Dighton Power

Dighton, Massachusetts

Description:   Dighton Power employs about 15 workers at this site, a natural gas power plant generating electricity for the New England power grid.