News and reports from the Department of Labor.

The U.S. Department of Labor has launched a webpage commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), highlighting the law's impact on retirement security for American workers.

A federal whistleblower investigation has determined that a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest building materials manufacturers fired a truck driver illegally in September 2023 after the employee raised concerns about fatigue and illness resulting from their assigned loads and routes.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement has requested that the Mexican government review alleged denial of workers’ rights at the Bader leather car interior manufacturing facility in León, Guanajuato. The committee is co-chaired by the Department of Labor and the Office of the Trade Representative.

A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has recovered $77,206 in back wages for five workers employed on a federally funded construction project after finding one subcontractor failed to pay prevailing wages and fringe benefits and another submitted falsified payroll records.

The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order to prevent Lifeline Inc., a Maryland-based home care agency, and its owner Rhoda Makinde from retaliating against employees amid an ongoing investigation.

Federal safety inspectors found a crew working aboard the Cuyahoga, a commercial iron ore vessel moored at the Port of Ashtabula, narrowly avoided disaster after a large fire erupted as they welded off paint in a cargo hold, an incident their employer could have avoided by following U.S. Department of Labor safety regulations.

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $594,274 in back wages and damages from Teracom Inc., a Saline, Michigan-based employer, following an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division. The investigation revealed that Teracom Inc. misclassified 63 employees as independent contractors, paid them a day-rate regardless of overtime hours worked, failed to pay overtime, and denied two employees their final paychecks. Additionally, the company did not maintain complete and accurate timekeeping records as required by law.

A federal jury in Kansas has awarded $957,324 in back wages to 168 workers at three Wichita-area restaurants. The verdict, rendered on August 30, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, came after a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit against Los Cocos Mexican Restaurant. The department’s Wage and Hour Division alleged that from May 2017 to December 2022, owners Sergio Delgado, Luis Alfaro, and Jose Alvaro de Leon violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon against Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. and R.B. Pamplin Corporation, alleging the unlawful acquisition of company-owned real estate by the R.B. Pamplin Corporation and Subsidiaries Pension Plan, jeopardizing millions of dollars in retirement funds for thousands of employees.

A federal appeals court has upheld a decision that F.W. Webb Co. wrongly exempted inside sales representatives from overtime pay. The ruling, issued on August 1, 2024, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, affirms a summary judgment from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Federal workplace safety inspectors have identified significant safety and health violations at a Wisconsin animal food production facility, exposing employees to risks of explosions, fires, and long-term respiratory illnesses due to excessive airborne dust.

The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a default judgment against Dierkes Heating and Air LLC, operating as Dierkes Heating and Air Inc., and its owner Todd Dierkes. The judgment, issued by the U.S. District Court of Minnesota on September 12, 2024, mandates the restoration of $9,259 to the company's SIMPLE IRA Plan for losses stemming from unremitted and untimely remitted employee contributions.

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $44,816 in back wages and benefits for 12 apprentices who were incorrectly classified as laborers by Walker White Inc., a subcontractor on a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ construction project at Fort Jackson.

A suburban Madison contractor with a history of federal safety violations, including incidents leading to an employee's fatal injuries in 2022, has once again been found exposing workers to significant hazards. A recent federal safety inspection revealed that GL Construction of Madison LLC failed to protect its employees from falls at a Verona residential construction site.

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the allocation of $1.4 million in grants to support four community organizations in their efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and harassment against underserved and marginalized women workers.