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. 

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RALEIGH, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor has debarred a Snow Hill-based father and daughter for three years from a federal program for widespread violations of federal regulations.

CHICAGO ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into an agreement with JBS USA Food Co. in which the nation’s leading meat packing processor and slaughterhouse will provide $4 million to assist individuals and communities affected by unlawful child labor practices nationwide.

The Jan. 13, 2025, agreement commits JBS to holding key elements of its supply chain, third-party contractors and service providers accountable for illegal child labor. They are also creating a targeted advertising campaign to raise awareness about unlawful child labor practices.

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement on findings from the USDA on worker safety in poultry and swine plants:

“The findings in USDA’s report on worker safety in poultry and swine plants show that injuries, including chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders are too common. These kinds of injuries often go unreported. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of at least $25 million in grants to support training and employment services for incarcerated individuals before and after their release from state, county or local correctional facilities. By providing reentry services during incarceration and after release, these grants will help improve employment outcomes in the reentry process and reduce recidivism.

WICHITA, KS – The U.S. Department of Labor filed a federal lawsuit on Jan. 6, 2025, as part of its ongoing effort to recover wages and damages for 80 female entertainers of a Wichita gentlemen’s club that allegedly failed to pay full wages, illegally deducted fees from their tips and required them to reimburse the employer if litigation or an investigation ever recovered lost wages for the dancers.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. and Mexican governments have announced the successful resolution to a Rapid Response Labor Mechanism petition that alleged workers’ rights were denied at Vidrio Decorativo Occidental, a Tamaulipas, Mexico, glass door manufacturer. 

The result follows a Nov. 8, 2024, request by the U.S. for Mexico to review the VDO case under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Rapid Response Labor Mechanism. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today released the results of its Mine Safety and Health Administration’s second Pattern of Violations screening in 2024 and announced that – for the first time since 2021 – none of the nation’s mines met the POV criteria for the existence of a pattern of violations under section 104(e) of the Mine Act. 

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement on the December 2024 Employment Situation report:

“Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 256,000 jobs in December, well above market expectations and reflecting a robust and resilient labor market. With unemployment ticking down to 4.1 percent and the three-month average of payroll employment gains at 170,000, this report underscores the strength of our economy as we close out 2024. 

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement on the tentative agreement reached between the International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance.