July 7, 2023

US Department of Labor finds Chicago towing company denies minimum wage, overtime to employees misclassified as independent contractors

CHICAGO – The operators of a Chicago towing company that promises customers round-the-clock service failed to pay dozens of its workers legally for the hours they worked providing emergency road service. 

July 6, 2023

US Department of Labor announces $798K supplemental funding award to assist South Dakota in pandemic recovery

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the supplemental award of $798,246 to the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation to support workforce development to respond to the impacts of the pandemic on the state.

July 6, 2023

US Department of Labor announces $5M funding opportunity to combat forced labor, child labor abuses in Malaysia

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor announced today the availability of $5 million in grant funding to combat child and forced labor abuses in Malaysia’s palm oil and garment industries.

July 6, 2023

US Department of Labor awards $1.9M grant to Muckleshoot Indian Tribe to provide employment, training in response to opioid crisis

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced incremental funding of $1,996,702 to members of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe in northwestern Washington to provide jobs, and employment and training services to individuals in communities impacted significantly by the health and economic effects of widespread opioid use, addiction and overdose.

July 6, 2023

US Department of Labor investigation finds Tennessee supermarket violated child labor laws, leading to amputation of teenager’s arm

CLARKSBURG, TN – When the owners of a Clarksburg supermarket allowed two 16-year-old employees to clean a meat grinder, disaster soon struck. As one boy reached inside the machine, the grinder started and amputated the teenager’s right forearm.

July 6, 2023

US Department of Labor recovers $78K for 27 North Charleston-area food store workers after investigation finds illegal pay practices

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC Some employees may not understand fully how federal law protects them if their employer fails to pay them as the Fair Labor Standards Act requires, as workers at two North Charleston-area food stores have learned.

July 2, 2023

Statement by US Secretary of Labor Walsh on the June Jobs Report

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh issued the following statement on the June 2023 Employment Situation Report:

July 1, 2023

US Department of Labor awards more than $6M grant to improve, promote New York’s Short-Time Compensation program

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $6,458,984 grant to the New York Department of Labor to improve its Short-Time Compensation program and promote its advantages to the state’s business community. Also known as work sharing, STC seeks to prevent layoffs by allowing an entire group of workers to receive a partial unemployment benefit payment while their employer reduces their hours.

July 1, 2023

US Department of Labor awards more than $1M grant to improve, promote Connecticut’s Short-Time Compensation program

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $1,187,842 grant to the Connecticut Department of Labor to improve its Short-Time Compensation program and promote its advantages to the state’s business community. Also known as work sharing, STC seeks to prevent layoffs by allowing an entire group of workers to receive a partial unemployment benefit payment while their employer reduces their hours.

July 1, 2023

US Department of Labor awards more than $4M grant to implement, promote Illinois’ Short-Time Compensation program

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $4,187,442 grant to the Illinois Department of Employment Security to implement a Short-Time Compensation program and promote its advantages to the state’s business community. Also known as work sharing, STC seeks to prevent layoffs by allowing an entire group of workers to receive a partial unemployment benefit payment while their employer reduces their hours.

July 1, 2023

US Department of Labor recovers $1.5M in back wages for 242 home healthcare workers in Pennsylvania, Missouri

HARRISBURG, PA – When an employer shortchanges home healthcare workers they hurt the workers, their families and the people for whom they care. In the case of a Harrisburg home healthcare company, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has remedied overtime violations involving 242 workers and recovered $1,566,457 in hard-earned wages owed to them.

July 1, 2023

US Department of Labor orders CSX Transportation Inc. to pay worker who raised safety concerns nearly $222K in back wages, damages

NEW ORLEANS – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found that CSX Transportation violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act and demonstrated a pattern of retaliation after firing a worker in December 2019 for reporting safety concerns. OSHA ordered the company to pay $71,976 in back wages, interest, and damages, and $150,000 in punitive damages.

July 1, 2023

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report

In the week ending June 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 364,000, a decrease of 51,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 4,000 from 411,000 to 415,000. The 4-week moving average was 392,750, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 1,000 from 397,750 to 398,750.

June 30, 2023

Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. recupera $98,000 para 39 trabajadores de la construcción a los que empleador de Jamul negó pago de sobretiempo

SAN DIEGO – Aunque una empresa de construcción del Sur de California pagó a sus empleados las primeras 40 horas trabajadas cada semana de acuerdo con la Ley de Normas Razonables de Trabajo,  una investigación federal encontró que las prácticas del empleador respecto al

June 30, 2023

US Department of Labor recovers $98K for 39 construction workers denied overtime wages by Jamul employer

SAN DIEGO – While the way a Southern California construction company paid employees the first 40 hours each week complied with the Fair Labor Standards Act, federal investigators found the employer’s overtime pay practices did not.

June 30, 2023

US Department of Labor finds Oaks Integrated Care failed to protect workers from coronavirus exposure at two New Jersey facilities

MOUNT HOLLY, NJ – Following a coronavirus outbreak in March that led to the deaths of two workers, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that a Mount Holly-based healthcare provider failed to implement a required coronavirus prevention program at two of its locations.

June 30, 2023

St. Louis metal finishing company pays $45K in back wages, benefits to employee terminated illegally while on protected leave

ST. LOUIS, MO – The federal Family and Medical Leave Act entitles workers to take unpaid, job-protected leave to care for their own or a family member’s serious health condition, so when a St. Louis metal finishing company terminated an employee on protected FMLA leave without notice, the U.S. Department of Labor intervened.

June 29, 2023

US Department of Labor, Office of the US Trade Representative convene inaugural meeting of US-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s Labor Council

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative met with their counterparts in the Mexican and Canadian governments June 29 for the first meeting of the Labor Council as established under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

June 29, 2023

Court orders two Minnesota restaurants to pay $435k in back wages following US Department of Labor investigation

MINNEAPOLIS – Imagine being on your feet 60 hours a week serving customers but getting paid for just 30, or working more than 10 hours a day as a cook or dishwasher for a flat salary and being denied minimum wage and overtime protections because your employer wrongly classified you as an independent contractor and not as an employee.

June 29, 2023

US Department of Labor cites grain facility for workplace safety failures following dust explosion that severely injured worker

ADRIAN, MO – Had MFA Enterprises Inc. – operating as West Central Agri Services – addressed potential dust ignition sources, an explosion that seriously injured an employee and caused the destruction of the main elevator at an Adrian grain loading facility might not have happened. OSHA cited the grain-handling facility for one willful and six serious safety violations, and proposed penalties of $215,525.