Labor News
Labor
News Release: JACKSONVILLE, FL – A Florida-based roofing contractor – with a long history of exposing his workers to the serious and potentially fatal risks related to falls – faces possible incarceration for his failure to comply with court orders once again.

Labor
Georgia landscaper ordered to pay $175K in back wages, penalties after US Department of Labor finds violations of H-2A worker program
News Release: SUGAR HILL, GA - A Sugar Hill landscape company violated requirements of the federal H-2A temporary agricultural worker programs related to hours, wages, transportation costs and work assignments, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor determined.

Labor
US Department of Labor finds IT company violated H-1B visa program when it failed to use, pay system analyst; recovers $64K for worker
News Release: DALLAS - An information technology services company in Irving hired a system analyst under the H-1B visa program, then failed to use and pay the worker the required prevailing wage for non-productive time - an illegal practice known as “benching" - a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

Labor
Investigation of Orem bakery, restaurant and grocer recovers $32K in overtime back wages for 8 workers; finds minor doing hazardous work
News Release: OREM, UT - The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $32,356 in overtime back wages for eight workers, and identified child labor violations after its investigation of an Orem employer whose business operates as a bakery, restaurant and grocery store.

Labor
US Department of Labor cites 4 contractors after multiple inspections find workers at risk of falls, a leading cause of death, injury in construction
News Release: EASTAMPTON, NJ – While falls continue to be the leading cause of death and serious injury in the construction industry, federal workplace safety inspectors too often find employers willing to ignore required safety protections and put the safety of their workers at risk.

Labor
US Department of Labor recovers $135K in back wages, damages after investigation finds Washington restaurant willfully violated overtime rules
News Release: BELLEVUE, WA - A federal investigation has uncovered overtime pay violations at a Bellevue restaurant that state labor investigators in Washington cited in 2020 for underpaying workers.

Labor
ICYMI: Secretary Walsh visits Port of Los Angeles, discusses economic recovery and supply chain with local leaders
News Release: LOS ANGELES - Today, U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh visited the Port of Los Angeles to discuss the Biden-Harris administration’s historic economic growth and the easing of supply chain disruptions. Secretary Walsh provided remarks alongside leadership from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Rep. Nannette Barragán, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia.

Labor
US Department of Labor extends comment period for COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard
News Release: WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has extended the comment period for the COVID-19 vaccination and testing emergency temporary standard to Jan. 19, 2022. OSHA extended the comment period by 45 days to allow stakeholders additional time to review the ETS and collect information and data necessary for comment.

Labor
Queens contractor failed to provide lifesaving fall protection, training to employees at Brooklyn worksite, US Department of Labor finds
News Release: NEW YORK - A federal workplace safety investigation has found a Queens construction contractor failed to provide and ensure the use of effective fall protection safeguards that would have prevented the death of a worker who fell about 60 feet from a roof on May 27, 2021, during demolition of a Brooklyn building.

Labor
History of violations: Dollar General continues to put workers at risk; company faces $321K in penalties after recent Alabama inspection
News Release: MOBILE, AL - As the nation’s largest discount retailer, Dollar General stores are widely known by shoppers in 46 states for their low-price merchandise. At the U.S. Department of Labor, the company is recognized for its long history of violations and repeated failures to protect its workers from on-the-job hazards.

Labor
US Department of Labor awards $800K in funding for employment, training services to combat Washington state’s opioid crisis
News Release: WASHINGTON - In 2010, an estimated 500 people in Washington state died by overdose , 83 percent of them blamed on controlled substances. A decade later, fatal overdoses claimed more than 1,726 residents’ lives. Of those, controlled substances, including opioids, led to 886 - or nearly 51 percent - of these deaths.

Labor
US Department of Labor finds federal wage violations, recovers more than $128K in back wages for employees of Vermont insulation, roofing contractor
News Release: MANCHESTER, NH - A Vermont-based insulation and roofing contractor’s disregard of federal laws has led to the recovery of $163,492 in back wages and civil money penalties to resolve violations of the H-2B guest worker visa program and Fair Labor Standards Act. The company violated protections for seasonal workers employed under H-2B guest worker visas, as well as its year-round, non H-2B workers.

Labor
US Department of Labor, stakeholders to sign partnership agreement to train, protect workers on Obama Presidential Center from construction hazards
News Release: CHICAGO - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration , Illinois On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program, Lakeside Alliance and key participants will sign a strategic partnership to prevent serious hazards and enhance workplace safety and health practices for workers constructing the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South side.

Labor
US Department of Labor awards $8.4M grant to address child labor, forced labor, unacceptable work conditions in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
News Release: WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of an $8.4 million cooperative agreement to the Pan American Development Foundation to empower civil society organizations and workers’ organizations to address child labor, forced labor and other unacceptable working conditions in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The project will promote gender and racial equity and prioritize people of African descent, Garifuna and indigenous communities.

Labor
US Department of Labor issues proposed rule modifying the methodology for setting Adverse Effect Wage Rates in the H-2A program
News Release: WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on its proposal to modify the methodology used to determine the hourly Adverse Effect Wage Rates for the H-2A program. The proposed changes will better enable the department to meet its statutory mandate to ensure the employment of H-2A workers will not adversely affect the wages of workers in the United States similarly employed.

Labor
New Hampshire carpentry contractor pays $107K in back wages, liquidated damages to 52 workers shortchanged by illegal pay practices
News Release: MANCHESTER, NH - A New Hampshire residential carpentry contractor misclassified some employees as independent contractors and paid others straight-time wages when they worked over 40 hours in a workweek, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.

Labor
New Hampshire wineries, restaurants, event venues operator pays $22,803 in civil penalties for child labor violations
News Release: MANCHESTER, NH - The owners of two southern New Hampshire wineries, restaurants, event venues and retail operations in Amherst and Derry violated the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act when they allowed 33 employees younger than 16 years of age to work more hours than allowed under the law.

Labor
US Department of Labor cites one of the nation’s largest pork processors for exposing workers to repetitive motion injuries, placing essential workers at risk
News Release: GUYMON, OK - A Guymon processing and packing facility - operated by one of the nation’s largest pork processors - failed to prevent workers from being exposed to repetitive motion injuries and did not record injuries that needed more than basic first-aid.

Labor
Federal court sentences Louisville pharmacist to prison, orders $188K in restitution after US Department of Labor finds healthcare fraud
News Release: LOUISVILLE, KY - A Louisville pharmacist who fraudulently billed healthcare benefit plans for $188,157 in unfilled prescriptions will serve 9 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release after pleading guilty in federal court.

Labor
US Department of Labor proposes $204K in fines after worker suffers amputation at Arkansas wood flooring plant
News Release: MONTICELLO, AR - A knot saw operator suffered a partial amputation of an index finger in June 2021 when his hand came in contact with a rotating blade that lacked adequate machine guarding. A few weeks earlier, a similar saw at the Maxwell Hardwood Flooring plant in Monticello lacerated a co-worker’s palm severely, leaving them with nerve damage.

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