News Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) announced the implementation of new opioid controls to protect injured federal workers. The new controls aim to reduce the risk of long-term opioid use. The Department is committed to reducing the potential of opioid misuse among injured federal workers receiving benefits under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA).

SPRING, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Aztec Construction Inc. – doing business as RSP Aztec Construction Inc. in Spring, Texas – has paid $25,380 in back wages to five employees for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) overtime requirements.

WASHINGTON, DC – The application period for the fall 2020 Honors Program in the Office of the Solicitor at the U.S. Department of Labor is underway. The program provides challenging professional opportunities for outstanding law school graduates with a passion for public service. The approximately 550 attorneys in the U.S. Department of Labor's Solicitor's Office enforce and interpret labor standards, occupational and mine safety and health laws, civil rights laws, pension and health benefit laws, and more on behalf of workers.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of additional National Dislocated Worker Grant funding of $3,724,200 to the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP). The funding will provide for the continuation of employment and training services to dislocated workers impacted by layoffs from the coal industry in the eastern portion of Kentucky, including miners affected by the Blackjewel LLC bankruptcy. EKCEP serves a rural population of nearly 500,000 people in 23 counties in the Appalachian mountains of eastern Kentucky.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced additional funding of $11,808,708 for the Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant awarded to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. The funds will allow for participants to continue disaster-relief cleanup resulting from the September 2017 storm, as well as for the provision of employment and training services to eligible grant participants. 

OCHLOCKNEE, GA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Rite-A-Way Mowers LLC – a Buena Vista, Georgia-based mowing contractor – has paid a civil penalty of $58,383 violating federal child labor laws when it employed a 15-year-old to operate a power-driven weed cutter. The minor drowned while clearing brush along Georgia's Ochlockonee River.

COLUMBIA, SC – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Grids Security Services LLC – based in Columbia, South Carolina – has paid $40,077 in back wages to nine employees, for violating requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA) and the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act (SCA).

SHELBYVILLE, IN – Penske Logistics LLC, a federal contractor, has agreed to pay $350,000 in back wages to 185 female applicants to settle allegations of hiring discrimination found in a U.S. Department of Labor investigation at the employer's Shelbyville, Indiana, logistics facility.

ST. LOUIS, MO – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is conducting a building construction survey of the metropolitan counties in the state of Missouri to collect data to establish prevailing wage rates, as required under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts. The survey covers active building construction projects in the metropolitan counties in the state of Missouri between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019. It is not limited to federally funded construction projects.

HONOLULU, HI – A Honolulu, Hawaii, maritime repair company will pay $239,380 to 47 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation found the employer failed to pay the prevailing wages required for work performed on a government-funded contract at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has awarded approximately $10.5 million in Susan Harwood federal safety and health training grants to 79 nonprofit organizations nationwide. The grants will provide education and training programs to help workers and employers recognize serious workplace hazards, implement injury prevention measures and understand their rights and responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970.  

OLMSTED FALLS, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited American Wire and Cable Company – an appliance industry supplier – for more than two dozen serious violations of workplace safety and health standards at the manufacturer's facility in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. The company faces $185,640 in penalties.

AKRON, OH – An Ohio county court has sentenced Jim Coon – a roofing contractor based in Akron, Ohio – to prison after he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 39-year-old employee who fell from a three-story roof while working without required fall protection in November 2017. The court's action follows an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that found the contractor failed to install fall protection systems.   

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has issued a Final Rule aimed at helping Americans find open agricultural jobs by modernizing the labor market test for H-2A temporary agricultural labor certification in the Federal Register.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today approved Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant funding of $975,000 to Workforce West Virginia to assess workforce needs in response to severe storms in June 2019, which brought heavy rainfall that caused extreme flooding and extensive damage to waterways.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor announced Scott Gibbons as Chief Data Officer to lead the Department's Data Board and Christina Yancey as Chief Evaluation Officer for the Department.

"A commitment to rigorous program evaluations and an improved digital infrastructure are two key components of the Department of Labor's future success," Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella said.

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited RMS Utilities Inc. – based in Alamosa, Colorado – for exposing employees to trenching hazards. The company faces $92,819 in penalties.

In the week ending September 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 208,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 204,000 to 206,000. The 4-week moving average was 212,250, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 212,500 to 213,000.

BOISE, ID – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Dollar Tree Stores at four Idaho locations for exposing employees to unsafe storage of merchandise, and blocked walkways and exit routes. The company faces $898,682 in proposed penalties.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the fifth annual National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) will be held from November 11-17, 2019.

Established by the U.S. Department of Labor, NAW is a nationwide celebration that brings together business leaders, labor, educational institutions, and Americans interested in apprenticeships to showcase the impact apprenticeship programs have on closing the U.S. skills gap and preparing the American workforce for the jobs of today and tomorrow.