WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $2,840,535 to the state of Michigan to develop and promote a short-time compensation program, a layoff prevention program also known as "work-sharing."

US Labor Secretary joined by ambassadors of Mexico, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica for signing ceremony

WASHINGTON — During a ceremony today at U.S. Department of Labor headquarters, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez renewed partnership agreements with ambassadors representing the countries of Mexico, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

US Labor Department finds workers owed more than $3M in most recent year alone

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a nearly $2 million correction by Cox Enterprises Inc. after the Atlanta, Georgia-based company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Cox placed annual limits on the dollar amount of benefits that participants and beneficiaries of adult preventive care could claim in plan years 2011, 2012 and 2013. The law prohibits companies from placing annual limits on health benefits.

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — A 55-year-old worker was found unresponsive in a restroom at Bremer Manufacturing Co. Inc. on May 6, 2014, and later died. The man, who had been employed at the Elkhart Lake foundry for the past 38 years, worked with resin-containing isocyanates on the sand molding line. Following an inspection, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the company failed to train workers on the physical and health hazards of chemicals in the workplace.

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — Holder Construction Co. and the U.S.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus cited for serious safety violation

PARIS, Ill. — Workers were exposed to combustible cornstarch dust, dust particles in excess of permissible exposure limits and other hazards at Septimus Inc. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the company for 21 serious safety and health violations, carrying proposed penalties of $46,400. A complaint prompted the inspection at the facility, which processes cornstarch for use in laundry detergent and other products.

CONWAY, Ark. — For exposing workers to struck-by, amputation and electric shock hazards, custom design and packaging manufacturer AGE Industries Ltd. is being cited for 14 safety violations, with a proposed penalty of $78,500, by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

PHILADELPHIA — Bricklayers were exposed to fall hazards as high as 30 feet above the ground while creating the exterior finish of new single-family dwellings at two work sites in Philadelphia, according to workplace safety and health citations issued against Vyacheslav Leshko, doing business as T and S Masonry LLC. U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials conducted the inspections after inspectors from the Philadelphia Department of License and Inspections made referrals to the department.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Service and maintenance machine workers at Good Old Days Foods Inc. are being exposed to amputation and electric shock hazards due to a lack of machine guarding and lockout/tagout procedures. These violations, 14 in total, are being cited by the U.S.

WATERSOUND, Fla. — Southern Wood Works LLC was cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for five safety violations following an August 2014 inspection at a Compass Point Way residence in Watersound. Citations were issued for failure to provide employees with fall protection equipment and exposure to falls from heights of up to 17 feet. OSHA initiated the inspection as part of its Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction. Proposed penalties total $71,069.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A "Hair Hang Act" performance during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus show on May 4 in Providence took a disastrous turn when the apparatus the performers were hanging from suddenly fell to the ground. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has determined this incident occurred because the carabiner used to support the performers failed from being improperly loaded.

PITTSBURGH — The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit to protect participants in the Wheeling Corrugating Company Retirement Security Plan and the Salaried Employees' Pension Plan of Severstal Wheeling Inc. The department seeks to correct fiduciary breaches by the plans' investment manager and plan administrator, which caused the plans to sustain losses and lost earnings in excess of $7 million.

Date of Action: Oct. 29, 2014

Name(s) of Defendant: David Braunsberg, Quality Control Pattern & Model Inc. and Quality Control Pattern & Model Inc. SIMPLE IRA

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 the following:

Date of Action:  Oct. 28, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Judgment and Order

Names of Defendants: All American Rentals Inc., Michael Carter, and the AAR Inc. 401(k) Plan

US Labor Department will extend Equal Pay Report comment period through Jan. 5, 2015

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 192 citations, five orders and one safeguard during special impact inspections conducted at nine coal and four metal and nonmetal mines in September.

MERIDIAN, Miss. — Following a 19-day trial, a U.S. District Court judge has issued a judgment and order requiring fiduciaries to pay more than $6.48 million to the two employee stock ownership plans sponsored by Bruister and Associates Inc. The order stems from a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Northern Division, alleging that the fiduciaries caused the plans to pay too much for BAI stock.

CHICAGO — A 31-year-old engineer was fatally injured on May 27, 2014, when his head was struck by an unguarded rotating gear arm on a piece of bakery equipment at Alpha Baking Co. Inc. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the Chicago baking plant for six serious safety violations following the tragic incident.