January 25, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers $51K in back wages, damages for employees of Evansville consignment store 

 

Employer: M & M Enterprises Inc. ‒ operating as Worldwide Missions Consignment Store

                   301 N. Congress Ave., 

                   Evansville, IN

January 25, 2024

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending January 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 214,000, an increase of 25,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 187,000 to 189,000. The 4-week moving average was 202,250, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 203,250 to 203,750.

January 25, 2024

Federal court sanctions Wisconsin hospitality group for failing to comply with US Department of Labor subpoenas

Employers:    

Arora Hospitality Group LLC

Banee Corporation

Harjap Hospitality Group LLC 

MKE Oil Corporation

Oshkosh Hospitality Group LLC 

Hardeep Arora                        

Actions:          U.S. Department of Labor enforcement of an administrative subpoena issued under the Fair Labor Standards Act as part of an ongoing investigation

January 24, 2024

El Departamento de Trabajo de los Estados Unidos recupera $901,000 en salarios atrasados y daños y perjuicios para 75 trabajadores de una tienda de comestibles a los que el empresario negó el pago de horas extraordinarias

MIAMI: El Departamento de Trabajo de los Estados Unidos ha recuperado $901,625 en concepto de salarios atrasados e indemnización por daños y perjuicios para 75 trabajadores de una tienda de comestibles de Florida tras comprobar que su empleador les exento erróneamente del pago de horas extraordinarias.

January 24, 2024

Federal court holds Nebraska contractor in contempt, orders daily fine until he complies with US Department of Labor subpoena

LINCOLN, NE – A federal court has issued an order holding a Nebraska roofing contractor — who has stalled federal investigators for nearly a year — in contempt of court and imposing a fine of $100 a day if he fails to comply with a subpoena to provide the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration with documents necessary for an investigation of an employee's fall off a residential roof in Lincoln in February 2023.

January 24, 2024

Department of Labor recovers $27K in back wages, damages for Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission workers denied overtime pay

Employer name:  Kanawha County Parks and Recreation Commission, doing business as Big Bend Golf, doing business as Coonskin Park

Investigation sites: 

375 Henry C Hoppy Shores Drive, Charleston, West Virginia 25302

151 Riverview Drive, Tornado, West Virginia 25202

January 24, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers more than $180K in back wages, damages for 63 Colorado HVAC employees

Employer name:        Comfort Air of Grand Junction LLC

Investigation site:     746 Scarlet St.

                                            Grand Junction, CO 81505

January 24, 2024

US Department of Labor investigation of worker’s finger-tip amputation finds Ohio instrument manufacturer again violated safety standards

EAST LAKE, OH ‒ Responding to the sixth amputation injury reported by an Ohio musical instrument manufacturer in the past eight years, federal investigators found employees at the East Lake facility were injured at four times the industry average rate in the past five years. 

January 24, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers $901K in back wages, damages for 75 grocery store workers denied overtime pay by employer

MIAMI – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $901,625 in back wages and liquidated damages for 75 workers of a Florida grocery store enterprise after finding their employer wrongly exempted them from eligibility for overtime pay.

January 23, 2024

Acting US Secretary of Labor Julie Su issues statement on annual union membership data

WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement in response to the Bureau of Labor Statistics release of its annual Union Membership data:

January 23, 2024

El Departamento de Trabajo de los EE. UU. recupera $168,000 en salarios atrasados para 51 trabajadores de respuesta a tormentas que fueron clasificados erróneamente como contratistas independientes y se les denegó el pago de horas extras

Read this news release in English.

WILMINGTON, NC: El Departamento de Trabajo de los EE. UU. recuperó $168,796 en salarios atrasados para 51 trabajadores de una empresa contratista de respuesta a tormentas de Wilmington que los clasificó erróneamente como contratistas independientes y no les pagó durante varios meses después de terminar el trabajo.

January 23, 2024

US Department of Labor announces amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemption filing, processing procedures

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced that it is amending its Procedures Governing the Filing and Processing of Prohibited Transaction Exemption Applications. 

January 23, 2024

US Department of Labor recovers $168K in back wages for 51 storm recovery workers misclassified as independent contractors, denied overtime

Read this news release En Español

WILMINGTON, NC – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $168,796 in back wages for 51 workers at a Wilmington storm response contractor that misclassified them as independent contractors and failed to pay them for several months after work was completed.

January 22, 2024

US Department of Labor announces new communities in initiative to improve workforce opportunities for young people

WASHINGTON –The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the second cohort of its Youth Systems Building Academy, an innovative effort to increase and enhance employment opportunities for youth. The 10 additional communities and their partners will receive individualized training and tailored technical assistance from the department to help develop, test, implement or scale systems that engage and support young people entering the workforce. 

January 19, 2024

US Department of Labor, Office of the Trade Representative find evidence of denial of labor rights at Atento call centers in Hidalgo

WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement, co-chaired by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the Trade Representative, today requested the government of Mexico conduct a review at Atento call centers in Pachuca de Soto, Hidalgo. The committee found evidence that workers’ rights have been denied at these centers.

January 19, 2024

Department of Labor issues joint request to help improve retirement plan benefits information provided to workers, federal government

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Department of the Treasury, the IRS and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

January 19, 2024

US Labor Department investigation finds Ohio food warehouse exposed workers to ergonomic hazards

FAIRFIELD, OH – Federal inspectors examining injury and illness records at a Fairfield food services warehouse found workers suffered severe injuries at nearly four times the average rate for their industry, with a high percentage of these injuries categorized as ergonomic musculoskeletal disorders.

January 18, 2024

Department of Labor releases proposed regulation on retirement plans and automatic portability transactions when employees change jobs

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Employee Benefits Security Administration released a proposed regulation on automatic portability transactions under SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. The goal of automatic portability transactions is to help workers keep track of their retirement savings accounts and improve retirement security by reducing cash-outs when they change jobs.

January 18, 2024

US Department of Labor investigation of worker amputation finds Ohio carpet manufacturer again ignored safety standards

MONROE, OH ‒ Responding to an employer report that a worker sustained a partial finger amputation while conducting cleaning operations at an Ohio automotive carpet manufacturer, federal safety inspectors found workers were exposed to operating machine parts as they cleared excess fiber material off chains, sprockets and other equipment. 

January 18, 2024

US Department of Labor investigation of construction worker’s fatal injuries finds Stoughton contractor failed to follow required safety procedures

BRAINTREE, MA – A federal investigation has found that a Stoughton general contractor could have prevented an employee from suffering fatal injuries in June 2023 if the employer had followed required safety regulations and trained workers on the safe operation of heavy equipment at a Brockton work site.