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Showing posts from November, 2023

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

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.

US Department of Labor, MEJA Construction Inc. to promote safety during construction of Clayton County’s Forest Park Middle School

US Department of Labor, MEJA Construction Inc. to promote safety during construction of Clayton County’s Forest Park Middle School Participants:  U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health AdministrationMEJA Construction Inc.Georgia Institute of Technology On-Site Safety and Health Consultation ProgramWhat:  Strategic safety partnershipBackground: The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and MEJA Construction Inc. signed a strategic partnership to promote safety and health practices to help in preventing worker injuries and reducing exposure to hazards during construction of Forest Park Middle School in Clayton County, Georgia. The initiative will also encourage contractors to develop and implement safety and health programs, and provide safety and health training to employees, employers and supervisors to reduce the number of injuries and illnesses, increase safety and health training, reduce the overexposure of workers to health and safety hazard

Wisconsin roofing contractor faces $180K in fines for repeatedly failing to protect employees, subcontractors from deadly fall hazards

Wisconsin roofing contractor faces $180K in fines for repeatedly failing to protect employees, subcontractors from deadly fall hazards SUAMICO, WI – After an Overhead Solutions LLC manager attended an on-site training discussion on fall hazards on May 25, 2023, federal workplace safety inspectors observed the company’s employees working about 30 feet above ground on a Menasha apartment complex roof without adequate fall protection. Thirteen days later, an inspector observed a project manager employed by Overhead Solutions LLC of Suamico hand out caffeinated energy drinks to subcontractors on a 10-foot-high roof in Appleton, a kindness undermined by the fact that workers lacked fall protection and the manager did not correct the hazard and protect them from the construction industry’s leading cause of death. In both situations, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened inspections. At the Menasha site, inspectors found employees wearing fall pr

Acting Secretary Su appoints two members to Administrative Review Board

Acting Secretary Su appoints two members to Administrative Review Board WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su has appointed two new members of the Administrative Review Board. The ARB issues decisions on behalf of the Secretary of Labor in cases arising under a wide range of worker protection laws, primarily involving environmental, transportation and securities whistleblower protection; H-1B immigration provisions; child labor; employment discrimination; job training; seasonal and migrant workers; and federal construction and service contracts.The newly appointed members of the Board are as follows:Angela Thompson most recently served as general counsel of the Communications Workers of America. Prior to that role, she was associate director of the legal department of the American Federation of Teachers. She also previously worked at the National Labor Relations Board and the department’s Office of the SolicitorJonathan Rolfe

US Department of Labor announces $98M in available funding to support delivery of academic, skills training, employment services for young people

US Department of Labor announces $98M in available funding to support delivery of academic, skills training, employment services for young people WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $98 million in funding to support the delivery of pre-apprenticeships in high-demand industries including construction, healthcare, information technology and hospitality.Funded through the department’s YouthBuild Program, the grants will help provide educational guidance, occupational skills training and employment services to disadvantaged young people, ages 16 to 24, in communities where barriers to academic and career skills development persist. The program aligns with the historic federal investments in the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda to create good jobs. They also support the department’s Youth Employment Works strategy, which seeks to ensure youth find “no wrong door” when accessing employment and supportive services. Administer

READOUT: Acting Secretary of Labor Su, Secretary of Education Cardona, White House officials celebrate youth apprentices at graduation ceremony

READOUT: Acting Secretary of Labor Su, Secretary of Education Cardona, White House officials celebrate youth apprentices at graduation ceremony WASHINGTON – At Department of Labor’s headquarters in Washington today, Acting Secretary Julie Su, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Domestic Policy Advisor to the President Neera Tanden, Department of Commerce Senior Counselor Zoe Baird, and other public and private sector leaders gathered to kick off National Apprenticeship Week 2023 with a graduation ceremony for students who recently completed apprenticeship programs. Acting Secretary Su and Secretary Cardona congratulated more than 25 recent graduates who received certificates and crossed the stage to applause from their families, apprenticeship program sponsors and employers. The graduates represented apprentices in a cross-section of high-growth industries that included education, construction, IT and cybersecurity, healthcare and advanced manufacturing. Tanden and Baird also offer

US Department of Labor kicks off 9th annual National Apprenticeship Week

US Department of Labor kicks off 9th annual National Apprenticeship Week WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the start of National Apprenticeship Week, an annual event that includes plans in 2023 for more than 1,300 events and proclamations nationwide, united by the theme, “Registered Apprenticeship: Superhighway to Good Jobs.”Through Nov. 19, this year’s 9th annual event will bring employers, industry associations, labor organizations, community-based organizations, workforce partners, education providers and government leaders together to showcase the importance of Registered Apprenticeship in improving job quality and expanding U.S. workers’ access to good-paying jobs in many industries. “National Apprenticeship Week recognizes the Biden-Harris administration’s historic investments in Registered Apprenticeships and their vital importance to our nation’s workforce infrastructure,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “This week, we commend our partners — in

US Department of Labor cites Long Island roofer for safety failures after worker suffers fatal fall at Glen Cove worksite

US Department of Labor cites Long Island roofer for safety failures after worker suffers fatal fall at Glen Cove worksite WESTBURY, NY – A federal workplace safety investigation has found a Huntington contractor could have prevented a roofer’s fatal fall at a Glen Cove worksite on April 14, 2023, by following legally required safeguards designed to prevent falls.The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined the deceased worker and other employees of Elite Roofing Services Inc. were installing metal decking on a flat industrial roof at Garvies Point Road when the decedent fell through an opening to a concrete floor nearly 20-feet below. OSHA’s investigators learned the company did not provide the employees on the roof with protection against fall hazards, such as guardrails, safety nets, personal fall arrest systems, positioning devices or fall restraint systems. The work being completed fell under OSHA’s steel erection standard, and  Elite Roo

US Department of Labor cites 3 Jacksonville contractors for exposing workers to potentially deadly cave-in hazards at Middleburg worksite

US Department of Labor cites 3 Jacksonville contractors for exposing workers to potentially deadly cave-in hazards at Middleburg worksite Employers:    KBT Contracting Corp.                         5105 Blanding Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32210                        Aquino Construction Inc.                         11465 Branan Field Road, Jacksonville, FL 32222                        Darmick LLC                        1804 Bartram Circle East, Jacksonville, FL 32207Investigation Findings: On July 27, 2023, a U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigator observed three Aquino Construction employees working at a Middleburg worksite in an unprotected trench, about 8-feet-deep, 55-feet-long and 9-feet wide installing casing around an existing sewer line. The trench lacked shoring or a trench box to prevent cave-ins. The investigator also saw a superintendent employed by KBT Contracting Corp. — the project’s general contractor — standing on the trench’s

US Department of Labor places Louisiana contractor in severe violator enforcement program after 34-year-old worker’s fatal fall at Georgia worksite

US Department of Labor places Louisiana contractor in severe violator enforcement program after 34-year-old worker’s fatal fall at Georgia worksite ELLABELL, GA – Federal workplace safety investigators have determined a construction contractor could have prevented a 34-year-old steel worker from suffering fatal injuries – after a 60-foot fall at a Hyundai electric car plant in Ellabell – by following legally required safety procedures.A U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation into the April 2023 incident found that workers employed by Eastern Constructors Inc. had been guiding an I-beam in place atop the plant’s paint building when the fall occurred. One worker, walking along the top of the building’s upper frame lost his balance and fell, resulting in the sharp edge of the structure cutting his safety line. Despite efforts of emergency personnel who arrived soon after, the worker died at the scene.OSHA determined Eastern Constructors Inc.