Katelyn Walker Mooney

State Government | State Departments

Recent News About Katelyn Walker Mooney

  • Judge orders reinstatement and compensation for wrongfully terminated CSX employees

    A federal administrative law judge has mandated that CSX Transportation Inc., a subsidiary of one of the nation's largest transportation companies, compensate two railroad workers with $453,510 and reinstate them after their wrongful termination. The workers were dismissed for reporting safety concerns at a Waycross, Georgia railyard in 2017.


  • Kentucky restaurants fined $250K over child labor violations

    The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement with El Mazatlan Inc., a Glasgow-based restaurant chain, requiring the company to pay $250,000 in penalties for violations of federal child labor laws. The investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division revealed that the restaurant employed a 13-year-old child and 37 teenagers aged 14 and 15 to work more hours than permitted by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).


  • Kentucky restaurants fined $250K over child labor law violations

    The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement with a Glasgow-based restaurant chain, mandating the payment of $250,000 in fines and the implementation of measures to ensure future compliance with federal child labor laws. This follows an investigation that revealed the company employed one child below the legal working age and 37 teenagers for more hours than legally permitted.


  • Labor Department warns on hurricane-related safety risks

    The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a cautionary message to emergency response and recovery workers, as well as residents in areas affected by hurricanes Milton and Helene. The department emphasizes the importance of recognizing and avoiding hazards associated with flooding, power loss, structural damage, fallen trees, and storm debris.


  • Tennessee sawmill fined $73K over illegal employment of minors

    The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a federal consent decree requiring Plateau Sawmill LLC, a lumber producer in Clarkrange, Tennessee, to cease violations of federal child labor regulations. The company must also pay fines and return profits made from products manufactured during the violations.


  • Tennessee sawmill penalized $73K for child labor law violations

    The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a federal consent decree against Plateau Sawmill LLC, a lumber producer in Clarkrange, Tennessee. The company is required to cease violations of federal child labor laws, pay penalties, and surrender profits earned during the period of violation.


  • Janesville recycling firm faces penalties for repeated toxic exposure violations

    A recent investigation by federal workplace safety officials has found that a recycling company in Janesville, Wisconsin, continues to expose its workers to hazardous levels of lead and cadmium. This comes after the company was cited for similar violations in April 2023.


  • Department sues NYC coffee shops over unpaid overtime claims

    The U.S. Department of Labor has initiated legal action against a chain of coffee shops in New York City for allegedly failing to pay overtime wages to employees working across multiple locations. The lawsuit was filed following an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division.


  • Department of Labor sanctions Washington contractor over unsafe practices

    The U.S. Department of Labor has taken action against a Kennewick-based farm labor contractor, Harvest Plus LLC, following an investigation that uncovered multiple violations of the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program. The department's Wage and Hour Division found that the company provided workers with substandard living conditions, transported them in unsafe vehicles operated by unlicensed drivers, withheld wages, made illegal pay deductions, and instructed workers to falsify documents to conceal breaches of federal regulations.


  • OSHA cites Nebraska farm cooperative for serious safety violations

    The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Wholestone Farms Cooperative Inc., a Nebraska-based farm cooperative, for three serious safety and health violations. This follows an investigation initiated by a complaint in March 2024. OSHA has proposed penalties amounting to $36,873.


  • Department recovers $132K in wages from Los Angeles tortilla company

    The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $132,506 in unpaid wages and damages for 72 workers employed by La Flor de Mexico Inc., a tortilla manufacturing company based in Los Angeles County. The investigation was conducted at the company's location on Commerce Drive in Baldwin Park, California.


  • Ball Container LLC settles discrimination case with $309K payment

    The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that Ball Container LLC, a subsidiary of Ball Corp., will pay $309,000 in back wages and interest to settle allegations of race-based hiring discrimination at its beverage manufacturing facility in Rome, Georgia. This resolution follows a compliance review by the department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), which found that from February 1, 2020, through January 31, 2021, the company discriminated against 192 Black applicants for production technician positions.


  • Department recovers $132K for Los Angeles tortilla workers

    The U.S. Department of Labor has successfully recovered $132,506 in back wages and damages for 72 workers at a wholesale tortilla manufacturing company in Los Angeles County. The recovery follows an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division into La Flor de Mexico Inc., which revealed that the company did not pay minimum wage or overtime premiums as required under the Fair Labor Standards Act.