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Showing posts from January, 2025

Acting Secretary Sonderling statement on May jobs report

Acting Secretary Sonderling statement on May jobs report WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling issued the following statement regarding the May 2026 Employment Situation Report:“President Trump and this Administration once again produced the best month of job creation since taking office, demolishing economists’ expectations. This Administration is proving the cynics wrong and American workers, families, and businesses are winning.The May Jobs Report overperformed on every level, adding 172,000 jobs and marking the third consecutive month of positive payroll growth. Thanks to President Trump, manufacturing jobs are up 25,000 in 2026 and construction jobs have increased by 71,000 since he took office – a true testament to this Administration’s priorities.Under the President’s leadership, American workers are seeing benefits in real time: rising wages, increased affordability, and over 903,000 private sector jobs added. The Department of Labor remains committe...

Phoenix drywall, painting contractor must pay more than $7.4M in wages, damages after deliberately denying overtime to over 1,400 employees

Phoenix drywall, painting contractor must pay more than $7.4M in wages, damages after deliberately denying overtime to over 1,400 employees PHOENIX – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment ordering two commonly owned Arizona drywall and painting companies to pay $7,450,000 in back wages and damages after investigators found the employers willfully denied overtime pay to more than 1,400 employees.The Jan. 15, 2025 judgment by the U.S. District Court of the District of Arizona follows an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division that found Apodaca Wall Systems Inc. and Empire Wall Systems Inc. in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The companies, owned by Arnold Apodaca and his children Michael and Brittany Apodaca, attempted to evade payment of overtime wages by paying hourly employees with multiple checks at straight-time rates for all hours worked. They also used labor brokers to hire hourly workers who were paid in cash at st...

Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on December jobs report

Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on December jobs report WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement on the December 2024 Employment Situation report:“Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 256,000 jobs in December, well above market expectations and reflecting a robust and resilient labor market. With unemployment ticking down to 4.1 percent and the three-month average of payroll employment gains at 170,000, this report underscores the strength of our economy as we close out 2024. “December was a particularly strong month for sectors like private healthcare, retail and government, while construction growth over the past year has been driven by non-residential projects. This is also the first economic recovery since the 1970’s in which manufacturing jobs have fully recovered - a testament to the investments and leadership of this administration. “The labor force participation rate h...