SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Officials from the United States, Central America and the Dominican Republic today held the first meeting of the Labor Affairs Council established under the Dominican RepublicCentral AmericaUnited States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).

The council is responsible for overseeing the implementation of, and for reviewing progress under, the Labor Chapter of the DR-CAFTA, including the activities of the Labor Cooperation and Capacity Building Mechanism established under the Labor Chapter.

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Atlanta — The owner of defunct Wesco Signs Inc., Concord, North Carolina, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina in Greensboro to two counts of embezzlement of assets from the company’s 401(k) and health plans.

NEW ORLEANS — Ceres Environmental Services Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., has agreed to pay $1,500,718 in back wages to 2,256 former debris removal workers. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that these workers were not properly paid for work they performed throughout Louisiana in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as required by the Service Contract Act (SCA) and the Contract Work Hours Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA). The workers were employed by 266 subcontractors of Ceres.

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Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued current and former fiduciaries of the money purchase pension plan of Vance-Warren Comprehensive Health Plan Inc. of Manson, North Carolina, to restore more than $120,000 in employer contributions and interest owed to the company’s pension plan.

Enforcement agency announces 10 criminal convictions and 9 indictments for October 2008

Web-based compilation of more than 10,000 listings designed to aid transition to civilian life

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has joined with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to launch a Web-based National Resource Directory to help wounded warriors identify resources available to assist them in transitioning back to civilian life.

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San Francisco – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits and Security Administration (EBSA) will hold free, half-day workshops on December 8, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. PST, to help employers, the employee benefit community and others better comply with federal pension law. The workshops will be held at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building, 1301 Clay St., 5th Floor North Tower, Conference Room H, Oakland, California.

Date of Action: Nov. 16, 2015

Type of Action: Consent Judgment

Name of Defendant: Paul Wax, Kinetic Solutions Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Allegations: An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, Kansas City Regional Office, resulted in the department filing a suit in federal court alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

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San Francisco – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued a Stockton, California, dental manufacturer and its principals to recover nearly $28,000 in employee contributions and participant loan repayments owed to the company’s 401(k) profit sharing plan.

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Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Texas Department of Insurance will host a free, two-hour webcast on November 20 from 10 a.m. to noon (CST) to help employers and benefit professionals comply with the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) and the Texas Specific Continuation of Coverage.

Final rule brings two-year public process to close with common sense reforms for modern workforce

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will publish a final rule on Nov. 17 to update its regulations under the 15-year-old Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) — a measure that will help workers and their employers better understand their rights and responsibilities, and speed the implementation of a new law that expands FMLA coverage for military family members.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Texas Department of Insurance will host a free, two-hour webcast on November 13 from 10 a.m. to noon (CST) to help employers and health professionals comply with federal and Texas state health laws.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment appointing M. Larry Lefoldt as the independent fiduciary for the 401(k) plan of defunct TDH Enterprise Corp. of Morrow, Georgia.

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San Francisco – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Vigilance, Inc. of Sunnyvale, California, and its subsidiary Harmony Software Inc. of San Mateo, to obtain the appointment of independent fiduciaries to manage and distribute approximately $580,565.22 in assets to participants covered by the two companies’ abandoned 401(k) plans.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington – A free, two-hour webcast to help employers and pension professionals providers comply with federal and Texas state health laws will be hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Texas Department of Insurance on November 6 from 10 a.m. to noon (CST). Additional webcasts are scheduled for November 13 and 20 on new health laws and guidance.

STERLING, Va. — GlobalCynex Inc., a Sterling information technology company, has agreed to pay $1,683,584 to 343 non-immigrant workers after a U.S. Labor Department investigation found the company violated the H-1B visa provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

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Old Bridge, New Jersey – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit to obtain appointment of an independent fiduciary to oversee the 401(k) plan of Coffman Tree Service Inc., a defunct company in Old Bridge.

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San Francisco – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Zenith Capital LLC of Santa Rosa, California, and its executives for allegedly investing the assets of 13 retirement plan clients in the hedge fund Global Money Management LP while receiving undisclosed incentive fees from the hedge fund’s sponsor and manager.

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New York – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order appointing an independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned 401(k) plan of the defunct Chelsea Voice & Data Inc. of New York City.