News from 2023
US Department of Labor awards $468K to continue cleanup, recovery efforts in 9 West Virginia counties after severe storms in 2021
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an incremental award of $468,206 to WorkForce West Virginia to enable the state to continue to provide temporary jobs for cleanup and recovery services in nine counties affected by severe storms in February and March 2021.
US Department of Labor announces findings of impact inspections at US mines with histories of repeated health or safety violations
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration today released the findings of monthly impact inspections at 25 U.S. mines in January and February 2023
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services announce additional steps to tackle child labor violations, strengthen coordination
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
The U.S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services today announced a Memorandum of Agreement to advance ongoing efforts to address child labor exploitation.
US Department of Labor recovers $67K for employee illegally terminated for exercising rights to bond with newborn child, care for spouse
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
A Covington distribution center turned an employee and their family’s joyous celebration of life and a chance to bond with their newborn into a nightmare by illegally terminating the worker for exercising their rights under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, an investigation has found.
Department of Labor obtains consent order, US Virgin Islands supermarket chain must pay $240K in back wages, damages to 33 underpaid workers
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment that requires four U.S. Virgin Islands supermarkets, and their owner and former operations manager to pay 33 workers – including janitors, security guards and stock people – $240,000 in back wages and liquidated damages after an investigation by the department’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer denied them overtime wages.
US Department of Labor recovers $259K from South Carolina manufacturer who denied 939 workers legally earned overtime
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
he U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found that Jadex Inc. and its four subsidiaries failed to include incentives, bonuses and premium pay into employees’ regular rates when calculating overtime rates for hours over 40 in a workweek.
Department Of Labor Obtains Consent Order, Us Virgin Islands Supermarket Chain Must Pay $240k In Back Wages, Damages To 33 Underpaid Workers
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
The Department of Labor has obtained a sentence by consent that requires four supermarkets from the US Virgin Islands.
Court enters consent order requiring restaurants to pay $911K in back wages, damages to 99 underpaid workers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
A federal court has entered a consent order requiring the Concord-based owner and operator of three restaurants in New Hampshire and Massachusetts to pay $911,568 in back wages and liquidated damages to 99 employees after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation into their pay practices.
US Department of Labor finds Salt Lake City restaurant supply company illegally employed 22 minor-aged workers beyond hours allowed
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
A federal investigation has found a Salt Lake City restaurant supply company allowed 22 employees – ages 14 and 15 – to work as many as 46 hours per workweek, and to begin work after midnight – both illegal practices under child labor laws.
Heightened US Department of Labor enforcement effort finds 4 Utah soda, dessert shops employed 19 minors in violation of federal child labor laws
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
The operators of a growing chain of specialty beverage and dessert shops founded in Utah employed 19 young teens for more hours and times than federal law permits, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found.
US Department of Labor cites Titusville plastic pipe maker for child labor, overtime violations, recovers $10K in back wages, damages for 60 workers
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
A U.S. Department of Labor investigation into how a 17-year-old worker suffered a minor injury at a Titusville plastic pipe manufacturer found the employer allowed the youth to illegally operate a forklift, a hazardous occupation under federal child labor law.
US Department of Labor recovers $50K for North, South Carolina gas station workers, assesses $16K penalty for repeated violations
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer – operator of seven North and South Carolina gas stations and convenience stores – illegally deducted cash drawer shortages from employees’ wages. By doing so, the employer paid workers less than the federal minimum wage in some workweeks, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
US Labor Department recovers $23K in back wages, damages for 34 employees denied overtime pay by private sporting club in Greenbrier County
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found the employer failed to include compulsory service charges - a mandatory 20 percent service charge to all members for food and beverage services - in their employees’ regular rate of pay.
1st Circuit Court of Appeals clarifies law governing administrative exemption consistent with US Department of Labor
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
On June 28, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor filed suit against Unitil Service Corp. in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, claiming that Unitil Service had misclassified two categories of employees – Electrical Distribution Dispatchers and Gas Controllers – as exempt from the overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act and seeking back wages for those employees. Both the department and Unitil Service moved for summary judgment.
US Department of Labor to host online forum for employers, contractors, workers, other stakeholders on workplace compliance, other issues
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
Organized by the Wage and Hour Division in Dallas, the forum will include panel discussions on compliance with federal laws governing wages and other workplace issues
US Department of Labor alleges Palm Beach medical transportation company misclassified employees as independent contractors, denied them overtime pay
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
US Department of Labor alleges Palm Beach medical transportation company misclassified employees as independent contractors, denied them overtime pay
Former Missouri State Worker Admits Stealing $140,000 in Unemployment Insurance Funds
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
A former Missouri state employee on Monday admitted abusing her position to send $140,500 in unearned unemployment benefits to friends, relatives and others
Center Line Resident Sentenced in Unemployment Fraud Scheme
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
A Center Line woman was sentenced to 18 months in prison today based on her conviction for stealing over $300,000 as part of a wire fraud scheme targeting pandemic unemployment assistance benefits, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Department Of Labor Agent Pleads Guilty To Fraud Scheme
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Special Agent with the Department of Labor, Thomas Hartley, age 49, of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on March 21, 2023, before U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, to the charge of mail fraud in connection with multiple schemes to commit fraud.
Final Two Defendants Plead Guilty for Roles in Scheme that Fraudulently Obtained Over $2 Million in COVID-19 Jobless Benefits
By DOL Newswire Report | Apr 3, 2023
The last two defendants in an Inland Empire-based scheme in which eight people fraudulently obtained $2.1 million in pandemic-related unemployment insurance (UI) benefits by claiming, among other things, that they were salon and barbershop workers rendered jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and mail fraud charges.