October 3, 2024

Pinellas Park boat manufacturer faces $328K in penalties after Department of Labor follow-up inspection finds significant safety issues ignored

TAMPA, FL  Rather than address the 15 existing safety and health hazards cited by federal workplace safety inspectors in July 2023, a Pinellas Park boat manufacturer continues to jeopardize the safety and health of its workers, according to a follow-up inspection by the U.S. Department of Labor.

October 3, 2024

Department of Labor investigators find Nebraska grain cooperative exposed workers to combustible dust, multiple hazards at Hemingford elevator

HEMINGFORD, NE ‒ Federal investigators found life-threatening hazards at a Nebraska grain cooperative, where workers faced risks of fire and explosions due to the company allowing a buildup of combustible dust and failing to maintain effective dust collection systems, leading to more than $500,000 in proposed penalties. 

October 2, 2024

Department of Labor orders railroad to reinstate employee, pay $200K in back wages, damages after retaliation for safety complaints

ENDERLIN, ND – A federal whistleblower investigation has found a North Dakota railroad company illegally retaliated against and terminated a claims representative who reported an injury, discussed safety concerns with their supervisor and filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor. 

October 2, 2024

Department of Labor expands grain handling safety emphasis program to address continued deaths, injuries in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska

KANSAS CITY, MOThe U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched a regional emphasis program to address worker safety in the highly hazardous grain handling industry as preventable injuries and unchecked hazards continue to be a serious concern for workers in the region. The program in Missouri is identical to programs already in place in Kansas and Nebraska.

October 2, 2024

AB Specialty Silicones must pay $1.3M federal penalty, implement comprehensive safety programs after 2019 Waukegan plant explosion

WAUKEGAN, IL – Chemical products manufacturer AB Specialty Silicones LLC will pay $1.3 million in penalties after an explosion and fire at its Waukegan plant in May 2019 claimed the lives of four workers. 

October 1, 2024

US Department of Labor restructures OSHA regional offices, merging San Francisco, Seattle regions to improve operations

SAN FRANCISCO –  The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has completed changes to restructure its regional operations and created a region to better protect workers and educate employers as businesses expand and workforces grow in communities in several southeastern states.

September 27, 2024

US Department of Labor urges workers, public in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Carolinas to be aware of hazards in recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene

Who:   U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

            Emergency and recovery response crews, residents in areas affected by Hurricane Helene

September 27, 2024

Department of Labor orders Maryland trucking company to pay $46K in back wages, damages; reinstate driver who refused unsafe load

MAUGANSVILLE, MD - The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered a Maugansville transportation company to reinstate an employee and pay them $46,094 in back wages and damages after finding the employer wrongly terminated the worker for refusing to drive an oversized load in an unsafe manner.

September 26, 2024

Department of Labor finds manufacturer ignored machine safety requirements during investigation of worker’s amputation

SEALY, TEXAS – A federal workplace safety investigation revealed that an employee suffered serious injuries to their arm while trying to clear debris during manufacturing of copper alloy products. The investigation determined that the plant’s operator failed to install required machine guards or locking devices, exposing workers to hazardous contact with moving machine parts.

September 16, 2024

Department of Labor orders subsidiary of global building materials supplier to reinstate, compensate driver who raised safety concerns

STEPHENSON, VA – A federal whistleblower investigation has found a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest building materials manufacturers fired a truck driver in September 2023 illegally after the employee raised concerns that the loads and routes their employer routinely assigned left them fatigued and ill, endangering themselves and others on the road.

September 16, 2024

Federal workplace safety inspectors find shipyard workers exposed to fire, asphyxiation hazards while making repairs to cargo ship in Ashtabula

ASHTABULA, OH ‒ Federal safety inspectors found a crew working aboard the Cuyahoga, a commercial iron ore vessel moored at the Port of Ashtabula, narrowly avoided disaster after a large fire erupted as they welded off paint in a cargo hold, an incident their employer could have avoided by following U.S. Department of Labor safety regulations. 

September 12, 2024

Federal safety inspection finds Sun Prairie contractor again failed to protect workers from potentially deadly hazards at home sites

VERONA, WI – A suburban Madison contractor with a history of federal safety failures – including violations that led to an employee’s fatal injuries in 2022 – has again been found exposing workers to the construction industry’s most deadly hazard — falls from elevation — during a federal safety inspection in February 2024.

September 12, 2024

Department of Labor finds Wisconsin animal food plant exposed workers to explosion, fire, respiratory hazards from airborne dust, cites 24 violations

WATERTOWN, WI – Federal workplace safety inspectors found a Wisconsin animal food producer exposed employees to the risks of explosions, fires and long-term respiratory illnesses from excessive amounts of airborne dust, among two dozen safety and health violations they identified. 

August 30, 2024

Biden-Harris administration’s proposed rule to protect indoor, outdoor workers from extreme heat’s dangers opens for public comment

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the opening of the public comment period for its proposed rule intended to protect millions of workers from the significant health risks of extreme heat and its publication in the Federal Register

August 26, 2024

US Department of Labor, Colombia establish partnership to protect Colombian citizens’ labor rights while working in US

WASHINGTON As the nation begins Labor Rights Week, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Republic of Colombia today announced the South American country has joined the Consular Partnership Program to raise awareness among Colombians working in the U.S. about regulations protecting them in America’s workplaces. 

August 26, 2024

Chicago countertop maker faces dozens of violations, $1M in penalties for not protecting workers, including 2 with incurable lung disease, from silica dust

CHICAGO ‒ Federal safety inspectors became aware that a 31-year-old employee of a Chicago countertop manufacturer needed a double lung transplant after suffering accelerated silicosis an incurable lung disease – and the U.S. Department of Labor immediately alerted the company of the potential imminent danger and an inspection by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found workers exposed to silica levels up to six times greater than permissible limits. 

August 23, 2024

Department of Labor, Mexican Embassy kick off Labor Rights Week 2024, commemorate Consular Partnership Program’s 20th anniversary

WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Labor officials and representatives from the Mexican Embassy and other diplomatic missions joined today to mark Labor Rights Week 2024 with an event promoting migrant workers’ rights and how the department is safeguarding these rights.