BALTIMORE — The Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University will pay $359,253 to settle allegations of discrimination made by two African American women who were employed at its Laurel, Md. facility. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs determined that the lab violated Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment on the basis of race or sex.

WASHINGTON — With an estimated 215 million children engaged in child labor and nearly 21 million victims of forced labor worldwide, it's critical that investments in projects to improve their lives employ the most effective and efficient interventions. Strong project monitoring and rigorous evaluations are necessary to determine which of many possible approaches will most effectively secure and protect the rights of these children and adults. The U.S.

Participant: Mine Safety and Health Administration

Description: The Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 117 citations and four orders during special impact inspections conducted at 10 coal mines and two metal and nonmetal mines in December.

Participant: Mine Safety and Health Administration

Description: The Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 117 citations and four orders during special impact inspections conducted at 10 coal mines and two metal and nonmetal mines in December.

Participants: Wage and Hour Division, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

Participants: Wage and Hour Division, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

Date of Action: January 14, 2015

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: Butte Steel & Fabrication Inc.; Jeffrey Brochheuser; and the Butte Steel & Fabrication Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan

Date of Action: Jan. 15, 2015

Type of Action: Order

Names of Defendant: Scott Wallis, Ronald Eriksen, U.S.A. Baby Inc., U.S.A. Baby Inc. 401(k) Plan, U.S.A. Baby Inc. Health Plan. Wallis was an owner and president of U.S.A. Baby Inc. and Eriksen was a majority owner and chief executive officer of the defunct company, which was located in Lombard, Illinois.

Date of Action: Jan. 14, 2015

Name(s) of Defendant: Lisa A. Ferrari, DMD; Clifton Casey; Lisa A. Ferrari, DMD, LLC; and Lisa A. Ferrari, DMD, LLC Retirement Plan

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

Employer name: JAO Enterprises LLC, doing business as El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant

Investigation site: 2091 North Bend Road, Suite 150, Hebron, Kentucky

Date and what prompted investigation: The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division's Louisville District Office initiated an investigation in August 2013 as a follow-up to a separate investigation at an affiliated restaurant.

US Chutes Corp. faces $94,248 in fines for repeated and serious violations

HARTFORD, Conn. — U.S. Chutes Corp. exposed employees to chemical, mechanical, electrical and respiratory hazards during the manufacturing process at its Bantam plant, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found. A manufacturer of galvanized chutes for laundry and trash conveyors, the company faces $94,248 in fines.

ROSS, N.D. —For the eighth time, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Northern Excavating Co. for allowing its employees to work at great risk in trenches without cave-in protection and a safe means to exit the trench.

WESTON, Ohio — While operating an industrial machine, a worker at MCM Precision Castings Inc. was exposed to noise levels that averaged 97 decibels, equal to the noise of a jackhammer, over his eight-hour shift. MCM Precision Castings Inc. employees were also exposed to dangerously high noise levels and crystalline silica dust, a cause of chronic lung disease, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found.

Date of Action: Dec. 29, 2014

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendant: Roger Ramsay and Compensation Planning Corp. of Rochester Inc.

WASHINGTON — Mexico's Federal Labor Law Reform of 2012 protects workers from various forms of discrimination: female workers fired or never hired for being pregnant; LGBT workers retaliated against for their sexual orientation; and men and women sexually harassed in the workplace.

These and other forms of employment discrimination can cripple economies, denying working men and women economic security and equal opportunity. Freedom from workplace discrimination is also a fundamental human right and a matter of basic human dignity.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Chester Fike was just in his 30s when he was diagnosed with black lung. As the disease progressed, the West Virginia coal miner was eventually so incapacitated that a simple walk with his family was impossible. In the summer of 2012, four months after a double lung transplant raised hopes for a second chance, Fike lost his fight for life at 60.

WASHINGTON — From August 2-14, 2013, a series of storms and floods destroyed homes, businesses and infrastructure throughout the state of Missouri, resulting in the Federal Emergency Management Agency declaring 18 counties in the state eligible for its Public Assistance Program on September 6, 2013. The renewal effort that followed was bolstered with a U.S. Department of Labor National Emergency Grant of $2,044,035 on Oct. 2, 2013, with an initial release of $1,000,000.

WASHINGTON — Officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Florida Department of Revenue today signed a memorandum of understanding with the goal of protecting the rights of employees by preventing their misclassification as independent contractors or other nonemployee statuses. Under the agreement, both agencies will share information and coordinate law enforcement.