News and reports from the Department of Labor.

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered over $153,000 in back wages and damages from a South Carolina store that denied overtime pay to its workers. The employer, Samer Express LLC, located at 295 Glenn Road, West Columbia, SC 29172, was found by the department's investigators to have failed to pay 29 employees the overtime rates required by law.

The Department of Labor has announced the availability of approximately $35 million in funding through the second round of Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs grants. This initiative is designed to prepare workers for the well-paid infrastructure jobs being created by the Biden-Harris administration’s “Investing in America” agenda.

The Department of Labor has secured a consent judgment in federal court, compelling a Delaware County home care agency to pay over $1 million in back wages, liquidated damages, and penalties. The ruling comes after the department discovered that the employer had shortchanged 159 workers of their rightfully earned wages.

The Department of Labor has announced the availability of up to $40 million in grants for national out-of-school time organizations. The aim is to expand local work-based learning opportunities, job training, and career pathways for underserved youth during non-school hours.

The Department of Labor announced today that Job Corps centers nationwide will host a series of events and activities from May 20-24, aimed at promoting positive mental health and fostering supportive environments where students can openly discuss their mental health issues and seek solutions. These events coincide with the month of May's designation as Mental Health Awareness Month and are part of Youth 2 Youth Week 2024, which focuses on the student-led Y2Y initiative at Job Corps. The initiative aims to combat violence and drug use while supporting mental health on campuses.

An administrative law judge has upheld the findings of a U.S. Department of Labor investigation into the labor practices of a concrete subcontractor from Bowie, Maryland, and its owners. The investigation found that the employers had misclassified workers on a federally funded affordable housing project in the District of Columbia, thereby violating federal regulations.

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a complaint against North Central Community Services Program and Affiliates, operating as North Central Health Care in Wausau, Wisconsin. The complaint alleges overtime and recordkeeping violations and was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on May 14, 2024.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has been recognized for its procurement practices, receiving an "A" score on the Fiscal Year 2023 Small Business Procurement Scorecard. This marks the 15th consecutive year that the department has achieved this grade. The scorecard, compiled by the Small Business Administration, evaluates the contracting opportunities that federal agencies provide to small businesses, including those that are disadvantaged, women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, and located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones).

The Department of Labor announced today that its Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has selected "Access to Good Jobs for All" as the theme for National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), which will be observed in October 2024.

The U.S. Department of Labor has found that a Watertown roofing contractor repeatedly violated federal regulations for fall protections. This determination followed a workplace safety investigation into an incident where an employee suffered fatal injuries after falling approximately 27 feet while carrying materials and climbing a ladder jack scaffold at a Brighton work site in September 2023.

The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a consent judgment to recoup $152,000 in back wages and liquidated damages for nine employees of a Bronx medical care provider. The employer had persistently failed to pay them overtime for hours exceeding 40 in a workweek, erroneously classifying them as exempt from certain federal regulations.

EVANSVILLE, IN – An injunction has been issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana against Bardhyl Shabani, owner of Friendship Diner LLC in Evansville. The court order requires Shabani to inform his employees about their rights to cooperate with federal wage investigators and that he is under a department lawsuit for retaliation against workers and failure to pay required wages.

The Department of Labor announced today that its Federal Black Lung Program will host outreach events for current and former coal miners suffering from disabilities related to black lung disease, as well as their families and survivors. The events are scheduled for May 21 in Indiana and May 22 in Illinois.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that its Federal Black Lung Program will host an outreach event in Greenville, Kentucky, on May 20. The event is aimed at assisting current and former coal miners who are suffering from disabilities related to black lung disease, as well as their families, in filing or re-filing claims for benefits.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered $151,444 in back wages and liquidated damages for 32 home healthcare aides employed by Renee’s Helping Hands, an Indianapolis-based company. The division found that the employer paid aides who traveled to clients’ homes to provide services straight time for hours over 40 in a workweek.