WASHINGTON — The Obama administration today announced updates to model notices informing workers of their eligibility to continue health-care coverage through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. The updates make it clear to workers that if they are eligible for COBRA continuation coverage when leaving a job, they may choose to instead purchase coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Date of Action: April 22, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Judgment

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Timothy A. Clark, Central Pennsylvania Pulmonary Associates LLC and Central Pennsylvania Pulmonary Associates LLC 401(k) plan

Pro Systems Corp. Group Health Plan

Date of Action: April 29, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendant: Pro Systems Corp., Pro Resources Corp., MICROPRO Inc., James Piche, Michael Brodsho, Pro Systems Corporation Group Health Plan 

Date of Action: April 16, 2014

Type of Action: Default Judgment

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Samuel McCutchin, Cynthia Lindenman, Snyder Heating Co., and Snyder Heating Co. 401(k) plan

Allegations: Based on an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, on Sept. 19, 2013, the Secretary of Labor filed a complaint alleging as follows:

LAS VEGAS — The U.S. Department of Labor and other federal agencies will participate in a town hall meeting on May 6 in Pahrump, and two town hall meetings on May 6 and May 7 in Las Vegas, to provide current and former nuclear weapons workers, including those who worked at the Nevada Test Site, with information about the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.

HOUSTON — The U.S.

BARTONVILLE, Ill. — Five Star Commercial Roofing Inc. has been cited for a willful safety violation after exposing workers to fall hazards of 29 feet at a commercial roofing project in Bartonville. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found workers exposed during a March 3 investigation and proposed civil penalties of $49,000.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration will convene a meeting of mine industry stakeholders in the wake of a dramatic increase in metal and nonmetal mining deaths. The meeting will address the causes of recent deaths, identify actions needed to prevent them and work to reverse the trend.

Since the beginning of this year, there have been nine fatalities in the metal and nonmetal sector. Nine of the 22 metal and nonmetal deaths that occurred in 2013 happened in the fourth quarter.

ARLINGTON, Va. — As part of its efforts to assure smooth implementation of the new coal mine respirable dust rule, the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration is forming a cooperative partnership with coal mine operators and miners.

Date of Action: April 29, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: Ditch Witch Equipment of Tennessee Inc., Aubrey Needham and the Ditch Witch Equipment of Tennessee Inc. Profit-Sharing Plan

DALLAS — A series of severe storms has been raging through parts of the Midwest, South and Eastern United States since Sunday. The violent weather devastated a number of communities in Arkansas and Oklahoma. As residents recover from these events, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration urges recovery workers, employers and the public to be aware of the hazards they can encounter and take necessary steps to stay safe.

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Department of Labor is seeking to obtain a judgment against strawberry grower Fernandez Farms Inc., based in Watsonville, Calif., and its president, Gonzalo Fernandez, requiring payment of nearly $1 million in back wages to approximately 400 farm workers for minimum wage and overtime violations.

WASHINGTON — A series of severe storms has been raging through parts of the Midwest, South and Eastern United States since Sunday. The violent weather stretched from Iowa and Oklahoma to states across the south, including deadly tornadoes in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Due to ongoing heavy rain, flash flood watches have been issued from Northern Florida up to New England. As residents recover from these events, the U.S.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the 2014 official theme of National Disability Employment Awareness Month: "Expect. Employ. Empower." Observed in October, NDEAM is a nationwide campaign that raises awareness about disability employment issues and honors the many diverse contributions of America's workers with disabilities.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez released the following statement after the Senate's vote on the Harkin-Reid-Merkley legislation that would have raised the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour:

"Today, a minority of U.S. senators blocked a minimum wage increase that a strong majority of the American people supports. In so doing, they have rejected a long bipartisan tradition of rewarding hard work with a fair wage.

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 152 citations, 14 orders and one safeguard during special impact inspections conducted at 10 coal mines and three metal and nonmetal mines in March.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1,576,221 National Emergency Grant to assist approximately 250 workers affected by layoffs at five companies in Hampden County.

EDISON, N.J. — Plant, tree and shrub firm Barton Nursery Inc. has signed a consent judgment agreeing to pay $27,056 in back wages to 12 nonimmigrant foreign workers hired under the H-2A visa program of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Investigators from the Wage and Hour Division's Southern New Jersey District Office found the Edison-based company failed to pay workers the proper wages and failed to retain adequate and accurate records for three years. The business will pay $36,615 in civil monetary penalties because of the H-2A violations.

SOUTH MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Following injuries to seven workers at Cooper Power Systems LLC, including chemical burns to the skin and irritation to their respiratory tracts requiring urgent medical treatment, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the company for six violations, including two willful violations. The workers were injured after exposure to an acid mixture while cleaning a spill that occurred at the facility on Oct. 30, 2013.

AURORA, Ill. — R.C. Wegman Construction Co. and the Fox Valley Building and Construction Trades established a strategic partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration to protect workers during the construction project for the New Main Aurora Public Library. The Illinois On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program is also a partner in the project.