PRATTVILLE, Ala. — Fras-le North America Inc. has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 17 safety and health violations following a March 2014 inspection at the manufacturer's Prattville facility. The inspection was initiated as part of the agency's Regional Emphasis Program for Safety Hazards in the Auto Parts Industry. Proposed penalties total $67,500.

Date of Action: Sept. 16, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Name(s) of Defendant(s):  Gulf Shores Marina LLC, Laura M. Prioli, Stephen C. Main, and the GSM/RYS 401(k) Plan 

OMAHA, Neb. — A worker at Watco Investments LLC reported suffering from respiratory inflammation after performing welding work inside a rail car in Omaha. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the company, operating as Watco Companies Inc., for three repeat and three serious safety violations, many involving OSHA's confined space safety regulations. OSHA has proposed fines of $133,900 for the company, which specializes in rail car repairs.

SECAUCUS, N.J. — General Glass International has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 10 serious safety violations, including electrical and machine hazards found at the company's fabrication and design center at 101 Venture Way in Secaucus. Initiated after a complaint, the March 2014 inspection proposed $45,540 in penalties for these violations.

DUBLIN, Ga. — An employee of John McAfee, doing business as McAfee Electric, suffered serious burns and required resuscitation by emergency responders following an incident in Dublin at Oconee Fall Line Technical College, where McAfee Electric was contracted to install emergency light-emitting diode, or LED lighting. The worker was injured while attempting to connect new wiring with existing wiring that was still powered. Following a subsequent inspection, the U.S.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the establishment of a National Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities. The purpose of the committee is to study and provide recommendations to the secretary of labor on ways to increase employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities, the use of the certificate program carried out under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $2,765,805 to the state of Texas for enhancements to the state’s short-time compensation program, a layoff prevention program also known as "work-sharing."

BRAINTREE, Mass. — Guiseppe Falcone and Daniele Falcone, doing business as D & J Ironworks, failed to follow safety precautions, which fire officials indicated led to a fire that cost the lives of two Boston fire fighters, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined.

CLEVELAND — After an inspection found workers were exposed to amputation hazards from improperly guarded mechanical power presses, MCM Industries Co. has been cited for one willful and 17 serious safety and health violations. The U.S.

FLORENCE, Ala. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has entered into an agreement with federal contractor Hillshire Brands Co., formerly Sara Lee Food & Beverage, to resolve claims of systemic hiring discrimination.

Date of Action: Sept. 9, 2015

Type of Action: Consent Judgment and Order

Defendants: American Materials Corp. and Donald J. Bercowetz

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $1 million competitive solicitation of applications for a cooperative agreement to develop a beneficiary monitoring toolkit for its international child labor elimination projects. ILAB currently runs 34 projects around the world to reduce incidences of child labor. The toolkit will support the design and implementation of systems to help these projects monitor the provision of services and the education and work status of children receiving services.

MINNEAPOLIS — The owner of a Subway sandwich franchise that failed to pay minimum wages and shaved hours from employees' time records will pay 16 workers a total of $9,800 in back wages and liquidated damages under terms of a consent judgment issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act by Subway of Buffalo Inc. and one of its owners and store manager, Marvin Baugus, which resulted in the lawsuit.

OMAHA, Neb. — Holder Construction Group LLC and the U.S.

WASHINGTON — Fort Myer Construction Corp. has agreed to settle charges that it violated Executive Order 11246 by failing to provide equal employment opportunities to employees and job applicants at 413 construction sites in the D.C. metropolitan area.

MILLINGTON, Ill. — KVK Foundry Inc. has been cited for two willful and two repeat violations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A March 2014 follow-up inspection found the Millington-based company failed to maintain requirements of OSHA's respiratory protection and hearing conservation standards. The foundry, which specializes in aluminum sand casting, was previously cited for these violations in December 2012.

SEATTLE — The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho against Sandpoint Gas ‘n' Go & Lube Center Inc., in Sandpoint, Idaho, and its owner Sydney M. Oskoui, individually, for violating the whistleblower protection provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The investigation determined that Sandpoint and its owner terminated a mechanic for raising safety and health concerns in the workplace.

LAKE PRESTON, S.D. — A 51-year-old worker was fatally injured when he became engulfed in flowing grain in a railcar load-out elevator at Prairie Ag Partners. On March 15, 2014, the incident occurred when the worker attempted to remove a jam from a chute while the auger operated. The U.S.

HOUSTON — Shell Oil Co. and Motiva Enterprises LLC, which markets Shell gasoline and other products, have agreed to pay $4,470,764 in overtime back wages to 2,677 current and former chemical and refinery employees as a result of investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor that found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will host two town hall meetings: the first on Tuesday, Sept. 23, in Amherst, New York, and the second on Thursday, Sept. 25, in Rochester, New York, to notify current and former nuclear weapons employees who worked at 39 covered facilities in New York about the benefits available to them under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. These meetings are open to the public and preregistration is not required.