VANCE, AL – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $438,625 in back wages, unpaid bonuses, equitable remedy and liquidated damages for two former Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama after the employer violated their rights to protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

In the week ending February 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 215,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 201,000 to 202,000. The 4-week moving average was 212,500, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 215,250 to 215,500.

Date of Action:          Feb. 28, 2024

Type of Action:         Employee Retirement Income Security Act default judgment

Company/Owners:    Elmhurst Academy of Early Learning Inc.

                                    Colleen Odegaard

                                    Elmhurst Academy of Early Learning Simple IRA Plan

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration joined Restaurant Opportunities Centers United for a listening session with restaurant workers on the importance of protecting workers from extreme indoor heat in the workplace on Feb. 21, 2024.

AUBURN, AL – A Camp Hill electrical contractor could have prevented a 22-year-old electrician from incurring life-threatening arc flash burns by following safety procedures they knew were standard in the industry, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an allocation of $6.95 million to support a research project by the International Labor Organization to better inform policymakers in their efforts to end child and forced labor.

Empleador:  Taquería Los Inmortales 

                        3131 Fruitridge Road

Employer:                  Mackenzie River Pizza

                                    1490 Milligan Road

Employer:      Taqueria Los Inmortales 

                        3131 Fruitridge Road

WASHINGTON – As part of the most pro-worker, pro-union administration in history, Acting Secretary Su is traveling the country to engage with workers, visiting Oregon and Mississippi over the past two weeks. During the visits, she spoke with a diverse group of workers and community leaders about the Biden-Harris administration’s ongoing commitment to creating opportunities for all workers and building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and Spain’s Second Vice President and Minister of Labor and Social Economy Yolanda Díaz Pérez met in Washington on Feb. 26, 2024. They signed a joint statement highlighting their shared concerns about algorithmic bias in automated systems and artificial intelligence that can lead to workplace discrimination of historically underserved and vulnerable groups. 

Employer name:        Gaston Group LLC operating as 7-Eleven

Investigation site:      1401 West 7th St.

                                              Fort Worth, TX 76102

Date of action:           Feb. 7, 2024

Type of action:          Motion for default judgment granted  by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The action follows a complaint and motion filed by the U.S. Department of Labor on June 15, 2023.

Defendants:               Marlton Pike Precision LLC 401(k) and profit-sharing plan

SELMA, AL – U.S. Department of Labor safety investigators found a Selma brick manufacturer exposed workers to silica crystalline respiratory hazards that have the potential to lead to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections at 15 mines in 10 states in January 2024, issuing 188 violations.

The agency began conducting impact inspections after an April 2010 explosion in West Virginia at the Upper Big Branch Mine killed 29 miners. 

Date of action:           Feb. 8, 2024

Type of action:          Motion for default judgment issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The action follows a complaint and motion filed by the U.S. Department of Labor in November 2022.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Brent Parton is visiting Japan Feb. 20-24 to facilitate technical exchanges on workforce strategies for advanced manufacturing and the semiconductor sub-sector in the two nations. 

Date of action:                       Feb. 13, 2024

 Type of action:                      Summary decision

 Names of defendants:           Zoom Flume Water Park LLC (in East Durham, New York)

Empleador:    EAS Homes LLC

                        9012 Timber St.

                        Charleston, SC 29406

NORFOLK, VA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered nearly $900,000 in back wages and damages after its investigation found a Norfolk home care employer denied 108 workers their hard-earned overtime pay.