News and reports from the Department of Labor.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a reminder for response and recovery crews, as well as residents in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas to be aware of hazards caused by Hurricane Helene. These hazards include flooding, power loss, structural damage, fallen trees, and storm debris.

The U.S. Department of Labor has mandated that TrueStart Transport LLC, a Maugansville-based trucking company, reinstate an employee and compensate them with nearly $30,000 in back wages and damages. This decision comes after the department determined that the company had unlawfully terminated the worker for refusing to drive an oversized load under unsafe conditions.

A court has issued an arrest warrant for Bryan Hill, the owner of the now-defunct Baltimore company Bicallis LLC, after repeated failures to restore $153,000 to the company's employee 401(k) plan. This decision follows multiple court orders and deadlines that Hill failed to comply with.

Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su visited North Carolina on September 24, 2024, to promote the U.S. Department of Labor’s Good Jobs Principles and to support public and private sector partnerships aimed at building equitable workforce pipelines. The visit also highlighted the Biden-Harris administration's efforts to create well-paying jobs while addressing climate change.

The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded more than $3.4 million to continue disaster-relief employment and workforce training for residents of Guam affected by Typhoon Mawar.

A federal workplace safety investigation has revealed that an employee at Hailiang Copper Texas Inc. in Sealy, Texas, suffered severe injuries while attempting to clear debris during the manufacturing of copper alloy products. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) determined that the plant operator failed to install necessary machine guards or locking devices, which exposed workers to hazardous contact with moving machine parts.

The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $138,100 in back wages and damages for 27 construction workers in Colorado Springs who were denied overtime pay. The investigation, conducted by the Wage and Hour Division, found that Bulletproof Plumbing & Heating Inc. paid non-exempt plumbers straight time for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek, instead of the federally mandated time and one-half.

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a complaint against Jacob Frydman, the principal of the now-defunct iBuilt LLC, and the company's group health plan. The action was taken on September 22, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded $6.5 million in National Farmworker Jobs Program Housing Services Grants to assist seven organizations across eight states in providing housing solutions for migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their dependents.

The Biden-Harris administration has announced the allocation of approximately $71 million in grants aimed at improving job quality, expanding access to good jobs in critical sectors, and preparing workers for new employment opportunities. This funding is part of the administration's Investing in America agenda.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) has entered into a partnership with Albany State University to improve career readiness and employment opportunities for veterans and military-affiliated students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This collaboration was formalized through a memorandum of understanding signed by Assistant Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training James D. Rodriguez and Albany State University Interim President Dr. Lawrence M. Drake II.

Western Global Airlines has agreed to pay $84,727 in back wages and interest to resolve allegations of gender-based pay discrimination at its Estero facility. This settlement follows a routine compliance review by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which raised concerns about disparities in base pay and bonuses for female managers, support professionals, technicians, and administrators.

The U.S. Department of Labor has initiated legal action against Coway USA Inc., a Los Angeles-based company, for allegedly failing to pay overtime wages to more than 180 employees. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and claims violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The U.S. Department of Labor has introduced the AI & Inclusive Hiring Framework, aimed at supporting inclusive use of artificial intelligence in hiring technologies and enhancing opportunities for disabled job seekers. This framework, developed by the Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT) and funded by the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), seeks to mitigate unintentional discrimination and accessibility barriers in AI-powered recruitment.

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the allocation of over $7.4 million to aid disaster-relief employment and workforce training for California residents impacted by severe winter storms in late 2022 and early 2023.