WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an updated procedure for determining whether nuclear weapons workers qualify for benefits related to beryllium exposure under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act. The update implements provisions of the Beryllium Testing Fairness Act, signed into law by President Biden as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024 on Dec. 22, 2023.

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment against Paul G. Fillet DMD Inc. and Dr. Paul G. Fillet for having unlawfully withdrawn more than $85,000 of employees’ retirement money from an employer-sponsored plan and abandoned the plan, preventing two participants from accessing roughly $160,000 in retirement savings.

PAULSBORO, NJ – A transportation company is facing $437,860 in federal penalties after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found workplace safety and health hazards at its Paulsboro site.

HOMESTEAD, FL – A Homestead drywall contractor could have prevented a hoisting incident in July 2023 by following required safety regulations, a federal workplace investigation has found. A 22-year-old worker suffered a fatal head injury following the incident.

MILTON, WV – The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a consent judgment and order in federal court requiring the trustees of coal producer Blackjewel LLC’s 401(k) plan to pay $637,014 in equitable restitution after an investigation found they violated fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

MILTON, WV – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has entered into a settlement agreement to resolve more than $1.2 million in unpaid medical claims by the Revelation Energy LLC health care plan based in Milton.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an incremental award of $768,337 to support continued efforts to provide disaster-relief jobs and employment and training services for people in Massachusetts communities, helping to address the health and economic effects of widespread opioid use, addiction and overdose. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the incremental award of $800,000 to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security to support continued disaster-relief employment for residents of Mississippi as the state continues to recover from the severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes that killed 21 people and ravaged towns in March 2023. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Wage and Hour Division will offer online seminars throughout 2024 for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers and other stakeholders on the requirements for paying prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts.

Employer:     Toremac LLC operating as Papi Chulo's Cantina

                       330 IN-46

                       Spencer, IN

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $12 million funding opportunity for organizations to provide training and employment services to help veterans combat homelessness.

Administered by the department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program awards seek to reduce homelessness among veterans by assisting them in overcoming obstacles to reenter the workforce successfully. 

MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, NJ – A widespread investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor has recovered nearly $16 million in back wages and restored over 24,700 paid sick leave hours to leave banks for more than 2,800 workers denied their full wages and benefits by 62 subcontractors hired to construct temporary housing and provide services to Afghan refugees at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Mine Safety and Health Administration completed impact inspections at 16 mines in 11 states in December 2023, issuing 247 violations.

The agency began conducting impact inspections after an April 2010 explosion in West Virginia at the Upper Big Branch Mine killed 29 miners. 

MADISON, WI ‒ Responding to a report of workers being exposed to anhydrous ammonia, federal investigators found a Madison ice cream plant lacked sufficient process safety management procedures to control the release of hazardous chemicals. Exposure to anhydrous ammonia, used in the refrigeration process, can cause respiratory injuries and burns to the skin and eyes. 

ROME, GA – A Silver Creek plumbing contractor could have prevented a 34-year-old employee’s June 2023 fatal fall at a Rome work site by following required safety procedures, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.

Employer name:           The Sweet Place LLC operating as Cold Stone Creamery

Investigation sites:      175 25th St., Suite 100, Ogden, UT 84401

                                                1917 W. 1800 N., Suite A5, Clinton, UT 84015

                                                936 N. Main St., Suite D, Layton, UT 84041

MANTECA, CA - Un restaurante de California deberá pagar $824,405 en salarios atrasados y compensación por daños a 102 trabajadores después de que una investigación del Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. descubriera que las prácticas salariales de la empresa negaban a los empleados el pago de tarifas de sobretiempo por las horas trabajadas por encima de 40 semanales como exige la ley.

MANTECA, CA – A restaurant in California will pay $824,405 in back wages and liquidated damages to 102 workers after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found the company’s pay practices denied employees overtime pay for the hours they worked beyond 40 per week, as the law requires.

Employers:    Superior Ventures Unlimited LLC ‒ operating as Subway 

                        Miranda Barajas-Brazil 

Actions:          U.S. Department of Labor enforcement of an administrative subpoena issued for Fair Labor Standards Act investigation

Courts:           U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division

Employer:                              Excelsior Ambulance Service Inc.

                                                173 SE Baya Drive

                                                Lake City, FL 32025