Date of action:                       April 3, 2023

Type of action:                      Complaint

Names of defendants:           EM Policia Privada Inc.; its successor Vigilancia Virtual y Policia Privada LLC; Israel Martínez Gutiérrez, individually Carmen Hernandez Rosa, individually; and Daniel Vargas, individually.

FORT LEE, NJ – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered more than $300,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for 63 workers at a Fort Lee restaurant after an investigation found the employer’s pay practices violated federal minimum wage and overtime regulations.

PLAINS TOWNSHIP, PA – A federal district court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania has issued a consent judgment ordering a Luzerne County paper box manufacturer and its owner to pay a former employee $13,000 after the U.S.

WHO:            U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

                      SNF Polychemie Inc., Dolton, Illinois                           

WHAT:          OSHA Voluntary Protection Program site-based, star-level designation

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee traveled to Buenos Aires from May 9-10 to join the U.S.-Argentina Labor Dialogue, a high-level annual event that provides a forum for both countries to discuss challenges and opportunities to advance shared labor and employment priorities.

Participants: U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration

                        Holder Construction

                        Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation

What:             Strategic partnership agreement

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor will hold a meeting of the Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health for Part E of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act on May 17-18, 2023, in Idaho Falls.

SAN JOSE, CA – A federal investigation has recovered $211,064 in back wages and liquidated damages for 16 people employed by the owners and operators of three Bay Area assisted living facilities that deliberately failed to pay the required overtime rate when employees worked over 40 hours a week serving the needs of older adults in Santa Clara and San Jose.

HONOLULU – U.S. Department of Labor investigators have found that a Lihue cleaning service failed to pay employees overtime wages when required and did not pay employees for time spent traveling between job sites, which has led to the recovery of $96,936 in unpaid wages and damages for 10 workers.

WASHINGTON – To mark two significant events in 2023 for people with disabilities, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced its Office of Disability Employment Policy has selected themes to promote National Disability Employment Awareness Month and honor the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Labor and elected federal officials held a media briefing today to discuss the release of a report by the department’s Women’s Bureau on how caring for family has long-term impacts on a mother’s lifetime earnings.

WASHINGTON – As the nation honors their dedication and sacrifice during National Nurses Week, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of more than $78 million in grants to support workforce training programs in 17 states and address staffing challenges nursing professionals face in the care economy.

In the week ending May 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 264,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 242,000. This is the highest level for initial claims since October 30, 2021 when it was 264,000. The 4-week moving average was 245,250, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 239,250. This is the highest level for this average since November 20, 2021 when it was 249,250.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Mine Safety and Health Administration will hold its first “Stand Down to Save Lives” on May 17 as part of a national campaign to encourage the nation’s mining community to take steps to prevent injuries and illnesses and stop an alarming rise in the number of miners killed on the job in 2023.

PHILADELPHIA – A federal court jury has awarded back wages of more than $22 million to the U.S. Department of Labor for more than 7,500 employees working for East Penn Manufacturing Company Inc. — one of the world’s largest battery manufacturers — after the department proved that the company failed to pay them overtime pay.

Employer name:        Texas Children’s Hospital

                                            1919 South Braeswood Blvd.

                                            Houston, TX 77030

Citations issued:        One serious citation and one Hazard Alert Letter.

Who:              U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division           

What:             Fair Labor Standards Act webinar for hotel industry employers, workers

When:            May 11, 2023, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT  

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor announced today the availability of $2 million in funds for the first year of a cooperative agreement for an employer-focused, disability policy development and technical assistance center.

TACOMA, WA – A federal court in Tacoma has ruled that the U.S. Postal Service retaliated against an employee who reported an injury to supervisors and applied for workers’ compensation benefits in 2019 while on probation as a new postal employee.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an incremental award of more than $2.8 million for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to support its continued efforts to provide employment and training services for people in communities affected by the health and economic effects of widespread opioid use, addiction and overdose.