U.S. Department of Labor

SULPHUR, LA – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Versa Integrity Group Inc. – based in Sulphur, Louisiana – has paid $495,901 in back wages to 411 employees for violating the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 

HOUSTON, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), D & V Painting Services – based in Houston, Texas – has paid $67,363 in back wages for violating the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

BETHLEHEM, PA– The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Dollar Tree Stores Inc. for exit and storage hazards at a store located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The national discount retailer faces $296,861 in penalties.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has released a Town Hall Action Plan based on insights and actionable recommendations derived from meetings hosted by the agency in 2019. Between Feb. 26, 2019 and Oct. 23, 2019, OFCCP hosted seven town hall meetings. These sessions allowed OFCCP to use feedback it received to review its compliance assistance efforts and identify ways to enhance contractors' understanding of their equal employment opportunity obligations.

WEST PALM BEACH, FL – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), J & Brothers Electrical Corp. and Southern Integrated Systems LLC – two Florida-based residential and commercial electrical contractors, working on a federally funded project – have paid $175,413 in back wages and fringe benefits to 46 employees for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Davis Bacon and Related Acts (DBRA) and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA).

PITTSBURGH, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a $400,000 consent judgment for violations of the overtime and recordkeeping requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by Heart II Heart LLC – a company providing adult community residential rehabilitation homes for individuals with disabilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

MISSION, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Mobile Diesel Services LLC – based in Mission, Texas – has paid $139,165 to 47 employees to resolve violations of the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

LITTLE ROCK, AR – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Bradford Marine Inc. – doing business as Bradford Marine & ATV headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas – has paid $26,265 in back wages to 28 employees for violating the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 

BOISE, IDAHO – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Cano Roofing Inc. – a construction company doing business as Signature Roofing in Eagle, Idaho – will pay $48,206 to 68 employees for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) overtime requirements. WHD also assessed $5,526 in civil penalties to Cano Roofing Inc. for several child labor violations.

ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is currently engaged in an education and enforcement initiative to increase compliance with federal labor laws in the Southeast’s agricultural industry, educate stakeholders, employers and employees, and to provide employers with compliance assistance.

O’FALLON, MO ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited R&R Contracting Services Inc. after an employee suffered fatal injuries when he was crushed by a powered industrial truck at the company’s O’Fallon, Missouri, facility in September 2019. OSHA cited the portable restroom service provider for nine serious violations, and proposed penalties of $52,626.

FREMONT, NE ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Interstate Commodities – based in Troy, New York – for grain handling violations after an employee was fatally engulfed in a grain bin at the company’s Fremont, Nebraska, facility in September 2019. The company faces $228,592 in penalties, and has been placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

PORTLAND, OR – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), Landmark Ford Inc. – a car dealership in Tigard, Oregon – has paid $27,451 to resolve child labor violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

WHD investigators found Landmark Ford Inc. employed minors – ages 16 and 17 – to work as lot attendants tasked with occupations prohibited under FLSA’s youth employment provisions, such as driving vehicles on public roadways, and loading and operating trash compactors.

NEW YORK, NY – The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has sentenced Howard Preschel of Teaneck, New Jersey, to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $462,049 in restitution for embezzling funds from an employee pension benefits plan sponsored by CMG Vending Inc. in Union City, New Jersey. The court also fined Preschel $10,000.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) today announced significant increases in the number of indictments and criminal investigations in Fiscal Year 2019 along with a drop in the number of days OLMS took to resolve union officer election complaints.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited CLF Construction Inc. and Toll Brothers Inc. for exposing employees to fall hazards after a CLF employee suffered fatal injuries in a fall at a worksite in Media, Pennsylvania. OSHA proposed $170,560 in penalties for Philadelphia-based subcontractor CLF Construction, and $74,217 for Horsham, Pennsylvania-based general contractor Toll Brothers.

In the week ending February 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 219,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 210,000 to 211,000. The 4-week moving average was 209,750, an increase of 500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 209,000 to 209,250.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia traveled to Madison, Wisconsin, to address business leaders at the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) Business Day. In his remarks, the Secretary attributed the nation’s strong economic performance to the President’s pro-growth policies, including deregulation, tax cuts, fair trade agreements and workforce development.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) today released its first-ever Contractor Compliance Institute (CCI) – an interactive learning management system designed to educate employers with federal contracts and subcontracts on how to comply with OFCCP’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) regulations.

BOSTON, MA – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that Universal Trucking Solutions LLC – a defunct Hartford, Connecticut, commercial motor carrier – and its co-owner, Juan Ramirez, violated the whistleblower protections of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA).