WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today issued the following statement regarding a lawsuit filed to stop the department from ensuring that retirement savers receive investment advice that is in their best interests.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $10.4 million in ApprenticeshipUSA State Accelerator Grants to expand and expedite registered apprenticeship programs nationwide.

Employer name: U.S. Postal Service, 2323 Forest Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa

Citations issued: June 2, 2016

Investigation findings: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Des Moines Area Office cited the postal mail sorting facility for two repeated and two serious safety violations.

Date of Action: May 31, 2016

Name(s) of Defendants:  Brian Hicks, Trojan Horse LTD; Capitol Expressways Inc.; Glen Burnie Hauling Inc.; BDH Logistics LLC; and Trojan Horse LTD 401(k) plan.

Allegations: Based on an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Secretary of Labor filed a complaint alleging:

Employer name: BC Stucco and Stone, 36 Marian Court, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania

BC Stucco and Stone was hired to provide labor for a store remodeling job. Schorn Construction Co. Inc. was the general contractor.

Inspection site: Route 40 and Salem Church Road, Bear, Delaware

In the week ending May 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 267,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 268,000. The 4-week moving average was 276,750, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 278,500.

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division
South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation

Employer name: Evergreen Nursery Inc.

Inspection site: 1501 Dials Road, Statham, Georgia 30666

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to Evergreen Nursery on May 31 for 18 serious safety violations.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Federal workplace safety and health inspectors have cited a Steuben County rail manufacturing and repair service facility for 17 serious violations, including exposing employees to unsafe levels of known cancer-causing chemicals such as cadmium, lead, nickel and sil

BATON ROUGE, La. – A Louisiana subcontractor was paying laborer’s wages to Karl Fusilier, a plumber working on the $8 million, federally funded Choctaw Lodge project in Baton Rouge. While the law requires his employer to pay him and co-workers as plumbers for skilled plumbing work, U.S. Department of Labor investigators say the subcontractor misclassified the three as “laborers,” cheating them of nearly $11 per hour.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez announced the award of $36 million in Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program grants today to help an estimated 17,000 veterans successfully transition to sustainable housing and good civilian jobs. The grants will fund a variety of services to assist homeless veterans in their return to the labor force including occupational, classroom and on-the-job training, as well as job search and placement assistance.

Employer name: Purrfect Enterprises Inc., 262 Clinton St., Paterson, New Jersey

Citations issued: On May 23, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for 22 serious violations and one other-than-serious violation.

EDISON, N.J. – A New York-area employer has learned that refusing to comply with federal workplace safety standards and then failing to accept responsibility for the violations can cost significantly more –in penalties– once the U.S. Department of Labor litigates the matter.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – To further protect workers who report violations of law, safety and health, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is launching a pilot for its first severe violator enforcement program for employers that continually and willfully disregard the rights of whistleblowers.

BOISE – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found an Idaho frozen food manufacturer failed to safeguard employees and was unprepared to respond to a potentially lethal release of 1,300 lbs. of anhydrous ammonia on Dec. 1, 2015.

Type of Action: Fair Labor Standards Act consent judgment

Names of Defendants: Tian Li Restaurant Inc., doing business as Ming Ten Restaurant
Jin Ling Ren
Shi Ju Xing

Complaint: Under terms of a consent judgment, Tian Li Restaurant Inc., operating as Ming Ten Restaurant in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and its owners and managers, Jin Ling Ren and Shi Ju Xing, have agreed to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act’s recordkeeping requirements.

Employer name: Ungerer & Company

Inspection site: 110 North Commerce Way, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Citations issued: On May 25, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one repeat and six serious violations, and one other-than-serious violation.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez issued the following statement today regarding the ongoing labor dispute at Verizon:

"Today, I am pleased to announce that the parties have reached an agreement in principle on a four-year contract, resolving the open issues in the ongoing labor dispute between Verizon’s workers, unions, and management. The parties are now working to reduce the agreement to writing, after which the proposal will be submitted to CWA and IBEW union members for ratification.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the funding of a supplemental National Dislocated Worker Grant of $3.4 million to provide for reemployment and training services for Kentucky coal mine workers. The new funding will assist current program participants as well as an additional 797 participants hurt by recent layoffs.

WASHINGTON – The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council, will meet at the U.S. Department of Labor’s headquarters on June 7-9, 2016, to hear testimony from invited witnesses and to receive an update from the Employee Benefits Security Administration. The council has scheduled the EBSA update tentatively for the morning of June 9. The department is located at 200 Constitution Ave.