October 21, 2024

US Department of Labor obtains judgment to recover $442K in back wages, damages for 29 workers at 4 Milwaukee-area Chicken Palace restaurants

MILWAUKEE – A federal court has ordered the operators of four Milwaukee-area chicken franchise restaurants to pay $442,140 to 29 employees in a consent judgment and order obtained following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor. 

October 21, 2024

Federal judge orders Florida water park to pay $151K in penalties after Department of Labor again finds child labor violations

ORLANDO, FL – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order requiring a Jacksonville Beach water park to pay $151,606 in penalties after investigators found the company assigned young teenagers to work late hours during the school year and as attendants on elevated water slides without certification.

October 21, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers $105K in back wages, damages for 28 Grand Rapids restaurant workers after owner withheld tips

Employer:      The Saucy Crab Grand Rapids LLC operating as The Saucy Crab

                              Jixi Qiu, owner

                              5039 28th St. SE

October 21, 2024

Department of Labor investigation of worker’s serious injuries finds Texas furniture manufacturer failed to install required machine guards

TEMPLE, TX – Federal workplace safety investigators have determined that a Temple manufacturer and designer of school furnishings could have prevented an employee’s serious and permanent hand and arm injuries by installing required machine guards. 

October 21, 2024

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center will pay $900K in back wages, interest to resolve alleged systemic racial hiring discrimination

DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Labor and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have entered into a conciliation agreement in which the federal contractor will pay $900,000 in back wages and interest to resolve alleged systemic racial hiring affecting 6,123 Black applicants at the center’s Dallas facility.

October 18, 2024

US Department of Labor awards $800K to provide employment, training services for workers displaced by multiple layoffs, closures

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded $800,000 to the Kansas Local Area I Workforce Investment Board, also known as Kansas WorkforceONE, to support employment and training services for people affected by multiple layoffs and closures between January 2024 and June 2024. 

October 18, 2024

US Department of Labor approves up to $5M in initial funding to support disaster recovery jobs, training for Tennessee after Tropical Storm Helene

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the approval of up to $5 million in initial emergency grant funding to Tennessee to support disaster-relief jobs and training services in 12 counties to help respond to Tropical Storm Helene. 

October 18, 2024

Department of Labor finds Massachusetts waterproofing contractor’s safety failures led to employee’s crushing death in Hanson collapse

BRAINTREE, MA – A federal workplace safety investigation has found the operator of three Massachusetts waterproofing contracting companies could have prevented an employee from suffering fatal injuries in February 2024 when part of a foundation broke and fell on the worker in a 5-to-6-foot-deep trench beneath the foundation of a Hanson residence.

October 18, 2024

Department of Labor to hold ERISA Advisory Council meeting Oct. 22

WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor will hold its next meeting of the 2024 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council, on Oct. 22. Open to the public, the online meeting is also accessible via teleconference.

October 17, 2024

Department of Labor investigation of 33-year-old worker’s fatal injuries finds Huntsville countertop company failed to protect employees from stone slabs

HUNTSVILLE, AL – A U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety investigation has found that a Huntsville countertop installation company could have prevented a 33-year-old employee from being struck by a stone slab weighing thousands of pounds by following federal safety standards at a Huntsville job site.

October 17, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers $317K in unpaid wages, damages from Southern California home care provider that denied overtime

WHITTIER, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $158,868 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages from a Southern California residential care provider that refused to pay overtime to 45 workers, some of whom worked up to 70 hours per week.

October 17, 2024

READOUT: Acting Secretary Su unveils Artificial Intelligence Best Practices to improve job quality; safeguard workers’ rights, well-being

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su hosted an unveiling of the U.S. Department of Labor’s AI Best Practices, a comprehensive roadmap designed to ensure artificial intelligence enhances job quality and safeguards workers’ rights and well-being. 

October 17, 2024

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending October 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 241,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 258,000 to 260,000. The 4-week moving average was 236,250, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 231,000 to 231,500.

October 16, 2024

Department of Labor cites Kumho Tire Georgia $271K in penalties, finds 15 safety violations in wake of 57-year-old worker’s fatal injury

MACON, GA – Federal safety inspectors found a Macon tire manufacturing facility with a history of safety and health violations could have prevented the fatal injuries sustained by a 57-year-old maintenance worker in April 2024. 

October 16, 2024

Department of Labor releases AI Best Practices roadmap for developers, employers, building on AI principles for worker well-being

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the release of comprehensive Artificial Intelligence Best Practices designed to ensure that emerging technologies such as AI enhance job quality and benefit workers when they are used in the workplace.

October 15, 2024

Department of Labor to hold online seminars for current, prospective federal contractors on prevailing wage requirements in fiscal year 2025

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Wage and Hour Division will offer online seminars for contractors, contracting agencies, unions, workers and other stakeholders on prevailing wage requirements in fiscal year 2025 for federally funded construction and service contracts.

October 15, 2024

Statement from Acting Secretary Julie Su on increased worker organizing

WASHINGTON – The National Labor Relations Board today announced that union election petitions more than doubled in fiscal year 2024 compared to FY 2021. Following the announcement, Acting Secretary Julie Su issued the following statement: 

October 15, 2024

Judge orders Pennsylvania contractor to pay $85K in wages, benefits, overtime owed to 6 workers on federal projects in New York, New Jersey

NEW YORK – An administrative law judge has ordered a Pennsylvania-based federal contractor to pay $85,284 in back wages for failing to pay prevailing wages, fringe benefits and overtime pay owed to workers employed on multiple federal construction projects, after an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

October 11, 2024

Federal judge orders CSX Transportation reinstatement, $453K payment for pair of employees illegally terminated after raising safety concerns in 2017

ATLANTA – A federal administrative law judge has ruled that CSX Transportation Inc., a subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest transportation companies, must pay a total of $453,510 to two railroad workers who were wrongfully terminated for exercising their federally protected rights to report workplace safety concerns. The company must also reinstate the workers. 

October 10, 2024

US Department of Labor approves up to $10M in initial funding to support disaster recovery jobs, training for North Carolina after Hurricane Helene

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the approval of up to $10 million in initial emergency grant funding to North Carolina to support disaster-relief jobs and training services in 25 counties to help respond to Hurricane Helene.