January 8, 2024

US Department of Labor obtains court judgment ordering Columbus nonprofit to pay $332K after violating rights of workers with disabilities

COLUMBUS, MT – A federal court has ordered the operator of a Columbus residential care facility to pay $332,972 in back wages and liquidated damages to 35 resident workers after the U.S. Department of Labor found the employer underpaid the workers and violated federal law protecting workers with disabilities.

January 8, 2024

US Department of Labor obtains decision to revoke Lynn contractor’s license for repeated defiance of safety regulations, failure to pay $300K in penalties

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards has revoked William Trahant’s construction supervisor’s license for at least two years as the result of a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Labor citing seven separate citations issued to his company since 2014 for violating federal fall safety regulations, as well as his continued failure to pay more than $300,000 in related penalties.

January 8, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers $230K for 545 workers in Nebraska meat processing plant denied pay for required pre- and post-shift tasks

HASTINGS, NE – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $230,000 for 545 workers at a Hastings meat processing plant that were denied compensation for pre- and post-shift work such as donning and removing protective gear and equipment cleaning time.

January 8, 2024

Joint statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Su, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Burrows on anniversary of PWFA, PUMP Act

WASHINGTONActing Secretary of Labor Julie Su and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Charlotte A. Burrows today issued a joint statement to mark the first anniversary of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act:

“On Dec. 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law much-needed and long overdue workplace protections for pregnant and nursing workers. We celebrate the first anniversary of legislation that so many long fought for to create more equitable workplaces. 

January 5, 2024

US Department of Labor cites Florida roofing contractor, home builder for subjecting workers to fall hazards at Boca Raton worksite

Employers:    All Phase Roofing Inc.

                        1313 S. Killian Drive, Lake Park, FL 33403

 

                        Lennar Homes LLC

                        3931 RCA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33403

January 5, 2024

Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Su on December jobs report

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement on the December 2023 Employment Situation report: 

“Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 216,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7 percent, continuing the longest stretch of unemployment below four percent in more than 50 years. Today’s numbers demonstrate an economy that’s growing at a strong and steady pace, which was a consistent story throughout 2023. 

January 5, 2024

Wisconsin roofing contractor faces $281K in proposed fines for again failing to protect employees from deadly fall hazards

APPLETON, WI – Federal workplace safety inspectors found an Appleton contractor once again ignoring the dangers of allowing employees to do residential roof work without required fall protection equipment and training designed to protect workers from the industry’s deadliest hazard: falls from elevation.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that, of 1,015 construction workers who suffered fatal on-the-job injuries in 2021, 379 of them died in falls. 

January 5, 2024

US Department of Labor investigation into amputation injury finds Nebraska Beef Ltd. ignored federal safety standards

OMAHA, NE ‒ A federal investigation into how an employee suffered a serious hand injury at an Omaha beef processing plant in June 2023 identified more than a dozen willful and serious violations related to the company’s failures to protect its workers from numerous safety and health hazards.

January 4, 2024

Departamento de Trabajo recupera $180K en salarios y daños para trabajadores de tres contratistas de Orange County que pagaron de menos

SANTA ANA, CA – El Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. ha recuperado $180,299 en salarios atrasados y compensación por daños de tres contratistas de construcción residencial del Condado de Orange cuyas prácticas salariales violaron regulaciones federales, negando a los trabajadores el total de sus pagos legales y legítimos.

January 4, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers $180K in back wages, damages from trio of Orange County contractors found shortchanging employees

SANTA ANA, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $180,299 in back wages and damages from three Orange County residential construction contractors whose employment pay practices violated federal regulations and denied workers their rightful and legal wages.

Some of the violations related to an employer’s misclassification of employees as independent contractors, a common violation in the construction industry that deprives workers of full and proper wages, benefits and worker protections under federal law. 

January 4, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers $26K in back wages, damages from Checkers franchisee that denied overtime, minimum wages to 36 workers

MONTGOMERY, AL – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $26,927 in back wages and liquidated damages for 36 employees of an Alabama fast-food enterprise that allowed management at two of its Montgomery locations to deduct time worked illegally, which led to federal minimum wage and overtime violations.

January 4, 2024

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending December 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 202,000, a decrease of 18,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 218,000 to 220,000. The 4-week moving average was 207,750, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 212,000 to 212,500.

January 3, 2024

Pepsi Guam Bottling agrees to pay $132K in penalties, implement enhanced workplace safety program after exposing workers to amputation hazards

TAMUNING, GUAM The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with Pepsi Guam Bottling after an inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the company exposed employees to amputation and other serious injuries.

January 3, 2024

Department of Labor recovers $1.1M for 165 garment workers after sewing contractors withheld overtime wages, falsified records

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an investigation recovered more than $1 million in back wages and damages — its largest settlement to date for California garment workers — for 165 workers after finding a Los Angeles garment contractor denied them overtime wages illegally and then tried to conceal the wage theft. 

January 3, 2024

US Department of Labor files suit seeking approximately $500K for 18 employees of Pasadena restaurant that illegally kept portion of their tips

Employer:      2 Poto Inc., operating as Entre Nous French Bistro

                        119 West Green St.

Pasadena, CA 91105

January 3, 2024

US Department of Labor investigation, litigation recovers $108K in back wages, damages for 47 workers employed by Rhode Island contractors

Date of action:                       Sept. 28, 2023            

December 28, 2023

Illinois contractor continues to expose construction workers to deadly fall hazards; employees observed in danger twice within a month in subdivision

SAVOY, IL – Twice within a month, an Illinois roofing contractor — cited previously more than 20 times for violating federal workplace safety regulations — was again found exposing employees to falls as they did residential framing work on houses under construction in Savoy. Falls remain the construction industry’s leading cause of death.  

December 28, 2023

US Department of Labor reaches settlement agreement that affirms willful violations, $730K penalty against ‘severe violator’ Ohio roofing contractor

WHEELING, WV – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement to resolve litigation following a March 2022 investigation at a work site in Wheeling that resulted in a dozen citations issued against an Ohio-based contractor with an extensive history of exposing workers to deadly falls.

December 28, 2023

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending December 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 218,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 205,000 to 206,000. The 4-week moving average was 212,000, a decrease of 250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 212,000 to 212,250.

December 26, 2023

US Department of Labor finds New Jersey trade show display manufacturer exposing employees to dozens of workplace safety, health hazards

OAKLAND, NJ – A U.S. Department of Labor inspection in June 2023 at an Oakland manufacturing company — that followed reports of two workers being injured — found employees exposed to dozens of serious safety and health hazards.