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Showing posts from September, 2023

Department of Labor will celebrate benefits of Registered Apprenticeships as valuable pathway to good jobs during first Youth Apprenticeship Week

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Department of Labor will celebrate benefits of Registered Apprenticeships as valuable pathway to good jobs during first Youth Apprenticeship Week WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor today announced that the nation will celebrate the benefits of Registered Apprenticeships and the opportunities they create for youth and young adults with 320 special events and more than 70 proclamations scheduled across the U.S. to mark the first annual Youth Apprenticeship Week from May 5-11. Built on the success of National Apprenticeship Week, Youth Apprenticeship Week will give employers, unions, educators, state agencies, workforce partners, community-based organizations and other Registered Apprenticeship sponsors the opportunity to showcase their programs and successes in youth apprenticeships. The annual commemoration also offers youth apprentices a platform on which they can share their apprenticeship experiences and educate the public about the benefits of local youth apprenticeship programs.
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US Department of Labor investigation of 29-year-old worker’s drowning finds Key Largo marine construction company failed to follow federal safety requirements

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US Department of Labor investigation of 29-year-old worker’s drowning finds Key Largo marine construction company failed to follow federal safety requirements KEY LARGO, FL – A 29-year-old employee of a Florida marine construction company drowned in five feet of water after being pinned under a fallen crane in March 2023. Federal workplace safety investigators determined the company could have prevented the fatality by following required safety standards.Employees of Upper Keys Marine Construction LLC were installing a piling foundation for a residential boat lift when the crane tipped over and fell into the water. The employee, who was inappropriately tasked to ride the load of the crane, became pinned under the crane’s hammer and drowned. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the company violated federal safety standards when they:Permitted workers to conduct pile-driving operations from a boat dock without approved buoyant vests. Failed
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Department of Labor awards $5M to train, expand pathways for women for Registered Apprenticeships, nontraditional occupations

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Department of Labor awards $5M to train, expand pathways for women for Registered Apprenticeships, nontraditional occupations WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $5 million to organizations in seven states to increase the numbers of women in Registered Apprenticeship programs and help connect them with good-paying careers in nontraditional occupations where the Biden-Harris administration’s historic infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy investments are creating sharp job increases. The announcement of the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations grants was made at AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington. Department leaders joined AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler to showcase the work of the labor organization’s Working for America Institute in Birmingham, Alabama. The institute received a $713,892 grant to support its pre-apprenticeship program’s effort to recruit women of color in the region.“To fulfill the promise of President Biden’s
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Contractor enters into deferred prosecution agreement, agrees to pay $370K for willful safety failures in employee’s 2019 fatal fall in St. Joseph

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Contractor enters into deferred prosecution agreement, agrees to pay $370K for willful safety failures in employee’s 2019 fatal fall in St. Joseph KANSAS CITY, MO – An Oklahoma construction contractor entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay $370,680 in criminal and civil penalties to avoid federal prosecution on one count of ignoring federal safety regulations that resulted in a worker fatality in St. Joseph in 2019.The action follows an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration that found Skinner Tank Co. did not require employees to use fall protection while working on the roof of the 56-foot soybean storage tank, nor provide fall protection training. On Oct. 14, 2019, an employee on the roof died after falling more than 50 feet to the ground. OSHA’s inspection also revealed that the company provided inaccurate safety information to its employees by telling them that wearing fall protection actually presente
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Department of Labor cites Irvington contractor who exposed roofing workers to fall dangers, other hazards at Hasbrouck Heights work site

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Department of Labor cites Irvington contractor who exposed roofing workers to fall dangers, other hazards at Hasbrouck Heights work site IRVINGTON, NJ – Federal workplace safety inspectors have cited an Irvington contractor who exposed employees to potentially deadly falls by allowing them to do roofing work atop a two-story home in Bergen County without required fall protection in March 2023. U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors opened an investigation after observing employees of JM Brother Construction LLC working at heights up to 23 feet with no adequate fall protection system in place in Hasbrouck Heights. In addition to the fall hazards, OSHA determined the company exposed workers to struck-by hazards by allowing them to ride without seat belts in an area of the company’s cargo vans not intended for passengers. The company also failed to protect employees from head impact injuries and allowed employees to use a ladder unsafely.The a
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Department of Labor announces enforcement, compliance initiative to protect workers from silica exposure in engineered stone fabrication, installation

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Department of Labor announces enforcement, compliance initiative to protect workers from silica exposure in engineered stone fabrication, installation WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration today launched a new initiative focused on enhancing enforcement and providing compliance assistance to protect workers in the engineered stone fabrication and installation industries.“Many workers in the engineered stone industry are experiencing illnesses so severe that they’re unable to breathe — much less work a full shift — because of their exposure to silica dust,” explained Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “Among them is a 27-year-old worker in California who went to an emergency room with shortness of breath in 2022 and whose lung biopsy later revealed he had silicosis. Since then, he has been on an oxygen tank and unable to support his wife and three young children financially.”Supplement
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US Department of Labor investigation of 28-year-old worker’s fatal fall finds Miami Gardens roofing contractor failed to follow safety requirements

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US Department of Labor investigation of 28-year-old worker’s fatal fall finds Miami Gardens roofing contractor failed to follow safety requirements MIAMI GARDENS, FL – A federal workplace safety and health investigation has determined a Hialeah roofing contractor could have prevented a 28-year-old employee’s fatal injuries after a 40-foot fall through a commercial roof to a concrete surface below in Miami Gardens in March 2023 by following federal safety standards.Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration responded to the site and learned that, as five employees of Sealed Tight Roofing Inc. worked to replace the roof, one fell through a section of the existing roof that collapsed as the worker was moving a debris-filled wheelbarrow. The worker was transported to a hospital but later died. OSHA determined Sealed Tight Roofing Inc., operating as Oceans Roofing & Waterproofing Corp., exposed employees to fall hazards up to 40 feet
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US Department of Labor recovers more than $947K from Oregon federal contractors who denied full wages, benefits to 213 construction workers

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US Department of Labor recovers more than $947K from Oregon federal contractors who denied full wages, benefits to 213 construction workers PORTLAND – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $947,547 from four Oregon contractors who failed to pay fringe benefits, prevailing and overtime wages to 213 employees working on federally funded construction projects in Oregon and Washington. The recovery follows several investigations by the department’s Wage and Hour Division and the discovery of violations of the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.Specifically, federal investigators found the following:G Builders LLC, a Damascus wood framing company, classified employees incorrectly and failed to pay them the appropriate prevailing wages and fringe benefits for the type of work they did while building affordable housing units at U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-funded projects in Gresham and Euge
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US Department of Labor announces $12.7M in grants awarded to promote workplace safety, health training, education

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US Department of Labor announces $12.7M in grants awarded to promote workplace safety, health training, education WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration awarded approximately $12.7 million in grants to 100 non-profit organizations across the nation to support education and training to help workers and employers recognize serious workplace hazards, employ injury prevention and understand workers’ rights and employers’ responsibilities under federal law.Funded through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program, the grants are being awarded in three categories, namely Targeted Topic Training, Training and Educational Materials Development and Capacity Building grants.“The award of Susan Harwood Training Grants remind us of Dr. Harwood’s important contributions to making our nation’s workplaces safer and healthier for countless U.S. workers,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “Dr. Harwood’s dedication to educat
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US Department of Labor recovers more than $120K in back wages, damages after 2 South Carolina plumbing employers deny overtime to workers

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US Department of Labor recovers more than $120K in back wages, damages after 2 South Carolina plumbing employers deny overtime to workers Employers:    Hill Plumbing & Electric Co. Inc., operating as Hill Plumbing & Air, 438 North Main St., Sumter, SC 29150Love Plumbing Electrical and Air LLC, 1336 Methodist Park Road, West Columbia, SC 29170Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor investigators found two South Carolina plumbing companies failed to pay some employees the applicable overtime rates owed to them for hours over 40 in a workweek, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Specifically, investigators found the following:Hill Plumbing & Air failed to include pre- and post-shift hours worked, on-call pay and non-discretionary incentive bonuses in the regular rate for overtime purposes.Love Plumbing and Air failed to include commissions in the regular rate when computing the half-time premium due in overtime workweeks. Back wages recovered:               
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Department of Labor encourages heavy, highway construction industries to join survey to set prevailing wage rates in Arizona

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Department of Labor encourages heavy, highway construction industries to join survey to set prevailing wage rates in Arizona PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor is asking employers in Arizona’s heavy and highway construction industries to participate in a survey to help the department’s Wage and Hour Division establish prevailing wage rates for construction workers employed on federally funded and federally assisted projects.The Davis-Bacon Act and Related Acts directs the department to set the prevailing wage rates that reflect the actual wages and fringe benefits paid to construction workers in the county where the work takes place. This survey requests information about wages paid to construction workers on all heavy and highway construction projects in Arizona that occurred between Oct. 1, 2022, and Dec. 29, 2023. This is a statewide survey and is not limited to federally funded construction projects. The division will begin collecting data on Sept. 15, 2023, and conclude the s
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Department of Labor finds Tamuning contractor endangered employees installing a sewer line in a Mangilao trench, despite knowing the risks

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Department of Labor finds Tamuning contractor endangered employees installing a sewer line in a Mangilao trench, despite knowing the risks DEDEDO, GUAM ‒ Two weeks after federal workplace safety inspectors warned the operator of a Tamuning construction company of hazardous conditions facing employees working in an excavation, they returned to find the company again exposing workers to potentially deadly trench hazards as they installed a sewer line at the Paradise Court subdivision in Mangilao. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Superman Corp. after a May 2023 inspection for two serious violations related to the company’s failures to provide adequate means to enter and exit the trench within 25 feet of the workers and test oxygen levels in the trench before employees entered.OSHA also cited the company with a willful violation after the agency determined Allen Kim, president of Superman Corp., failed to provide required protection from c
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Millersburg contractor faces more than $548K in fines for repeatedly failing to protect roofing employees from exposure to deadly fall hazards

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Millersburg contractor faces more than $548K in fines for repeatedly failing to protect roofing employees from exposure to deadly fall hazards MILLERSBURG, OH – On four occasions in less than three months in 2023, U.S. Department of Labor inspectors observed a Millersburg roofing contractor again exposing workers to deadly fall hazards of up to 19 feet at four residential roofing job sites in Canton, Uniontown and Westlake, despite having fall protection equipment available on site. Following its March, April and June investigations, the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed $548,801 in penalties to JMH Roofing LLC, after identifying eight willful and two repeat violations.  Jonas Hershberger operates JMH Roofing LLC and RAM Roofing LLC. The current citations continue Hershberger’s history of disregard for workplace safety regulations with numerous citations to these two companies since 2018.“Jonas Hershberger continues his dangerous pattern of ignoring f
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Investigation recovers $693K in back wages, damages from Georgia contractor that schemed for years to deprive 110 workers on Hawaii projects of overtime

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Investigation recovers $693K in back wages, damages from Georgia contractor that schemed for years to deprive 110 workers on Hawaii projects of overtime HONOLULU – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $693,100 in back wages and damages after its investigations determined a Georgia-based prime contractor schemed to deny payment of overtime wages to 110 construction workers from 12 states employed on several hotel renovation projects in Honolulu between 2019 and 2022. Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found S&A Industries Inc. of Suwanee, Georgia paid the affected workers straight-time rates for all hours worked, and used a series of illegal payment arrangements to avoid paying overtime wages for hours over 40 in a workweek. The workers were employed by seven subcontractors to complete various renovation projects at Hilton and Marriott resorts. The division determined S&A violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay overtime for hours ov
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Federal inspectors find Missouri roofing contractor allowed employees to work without fall protection, leading to young worker’s fatal injuries

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Federal inspectors find Missouri roofing contractor allowed employees to work without fall protection, leading to young worker’s fatal injuries TRENTON, MO – On March 27, 2023, an 18-year-old employee of a Missouri contractor was applying sealant to a commercial building’s roof when he fell more than 22 feet and suffered serious injuries that left him in a coma for five days before dying. After the tragic fall, the employer — Troyer Constructors LLP, operating as Troyer Roofing & Coatings — allowed a foreman and another worker to continue working without fall protection until they finished their shift. In addition, inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned the Jamesport employer had fall protection available but allowed employees to decide if they wanted to use it. “Troyer Roofing & Coatings could have prevented this young worker’s death by requiring their employees to use fall protection equipment. Disturbingly, the e
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Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Su on August jobs report

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Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Su on August jobs report WASHINGTON – Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie A. Su issued the following statement on the August 2023 Employment Situation report:  “Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 187,000 jobs, an indication that the economy continues its strong and steady growth as we return to normal following the breakneck pace of our rapid recovery. Solid increases in health care and social assistance, along with continued gains in construction and manufacturing, also reflect broad economic growth across different sectors. “As more people entered the labor market looking for work, the labor force participation rate increased to a post-pandemic recovery high of 62.8 percent. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 3.8 percent from 3.5 percent in July because more people saw an opportunity to work, and they started looking for a job. This is another sign of the optimism that people are feeling abo
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