October 28, 2024

US Department of Labor signs memorandum with Kenyan government to promote labor cooperation, strengthen ties between two countries

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor and Kenya’s Ministry of Labor and Social Protection today signed a memorandum of understanding to advance labor cooperation between the two countries.

Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee and Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Labor and Social Protection Alfred N. Mutua met for a signing ceremony at the ministry’s Nairobi headquarters.

October 28, 2024

US Department of Labor awards $5M for temporary jobs, workforce training to continue Hurricane Idalia support to Florida

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $5 million in funding to support continued disaster-relief employment and workforce training for Florida residents as the state continues to recover after Hurricane Idalia.

October 24, 2024

US Department of Labor announces collaboration with New York to promote labor law compliance, child labor enforcement

Date of action:           Oct. 3, 2024 

Participants:              U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division 

                        New York State Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards

October 24, 2024

Judge affirms serious violations against Rochester roofing contractor that exposed workers to 4-story falls from Village of Newark municipal building

SYRACUSE, NY – An administrative law judge has ordered a Rochester commercial roofing company to pay $16,782 in penalties for two serious fall protection and ladder safety violations, after an investigation and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

October 24, 2024

Departments of Labor, Commerce, Education renew memorandum of understanding with Switzerland to expand Registered Apprenticeship in US

WASHINGTON – The U.S. and Swiss governments have renewed a memorandum of understanding to expand and strengthen quality apprenticeships and pathways to good jobs, including Registered Apprenticeships, among Swiss companies and Swiss-invested companies in the U.S.

October 24, 2024

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending October 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 227,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 241,000 to 242,000. The 4-week moving average was 238,500, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 236,250 to 236,500.

October 23, 2024

US Department of Labor, Office of the Trade Representative seek review of alleged denial of labor rights at Hidalgo, Mexico, cement plant facility

WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement today requested that the Mexican government review an alleged denial of workers’ rights at Odisa Equipment Services, a cement plant machinery manufacturing facility in Hidalgo, Mexico.

The U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Trade Representative co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee.

October 23, 2024

Department of Labor welcomes new Apprenticeship Ambassadors, recognizes organizations for promoting, expanding, diversifying Registered Apprenticeship

WASHINGTON – At a White House ceremony today, the U.S. Department of Labor welcomed the latest cohort of Apprenticeship Ambassadors and recognized current ambassadors for meeting or exceeding their commitments to expand and diversify Registered Apprenticeships. 

October 22, 2024

Department of Labor announces Advisory Board on Toxic Substances, Worker Health will meet Oct. 30

WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor today announced the Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health for Part E of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act will hold an online meeting Oct. 30, 2024. Meetings are open to the public.

The act provides compensation and medical benefits to nuclear weapons workers diagnosed with medical conditions caused by their exposure to toxic substances at covered nuclear facilities.

October 22, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers more than $1B in wages, damages for 615,000 workers under Biden-Harris administration

WASHINGTON –The Biden-Harris administration today announced that the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $1 billion in back wages and damages for our nation’s workers since the start of the Biden-Harris administration. The recoveries derive from investigations concluded by the division from Jan. 20, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2024.

October 22, 2024

El Departamento de Trabajo obtiene orden judicial para recuperar $120K en sueldos, daños de un franquiciado de Huddle House que retuvo sueldos e hizo deducciones ilegales

OKLAHOMA CITY – El Departamento de Trabajo de EE. UU. obtuvo un fallo por consentimiento y un interdicto para recuperar $120,000 en sueldos atrasados y daños y perjuicios para 177 trabajadores de restaurantes de Oklahoma cuyo empleador dedujo el tiempo de descanso para almorzar que no se utilizó y no les pagó por todas las horas trabajadas.

October 22, 2024

Department of Labor obtains judgment to recover $120K in wages, damages from Huddle House franchisee who withheld wages, made illegal deductions

OKLAHOMA CITY  The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and injunction to recover $120,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 177 Oklahoma restaurant workers whose employer deducted time for lunch breaks not taken and failed to pay employees for all hours worked.

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.