Vivinavi

Wages recovered and pensions secured

Our enforcement efforts and unions are creating a brighter future for workers.

DOL Seal [ https://www.dol.gov ]

U.S. Department of Labor



"October 24, 2024"



Acting Secretary Su and Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman sit at a table with other adults. Signs around the table read “$1 billion for workers recovered.” [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20241022-0 ]



Acting Secretary Su celebrated milestone of recovering $1B in wages and damages for workers under Biden-Harris Administration [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20241022-0 ]

In Nanticoke, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20241022-0 ] and Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman announced that, since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, the department has recovered more than $1 billion in back wages and damages for 615,000 U.S. workers. The officials joined Northeast Building and Construction Trades Council representatives and local workers to tour the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ Local 163 training facility. They also discussed the importance of holding employers accountable and ensuring workers get what they are owed.



Happy Black woman smiling as she looks at her phone.



Enforcement efforts recover over $984K for 279 workers

Investigators recovered back wages and damages for workers from employers around the country last week, including restaurant and home care industries. Read their success stories below. 


* $442K for 29 workers at four Milwaukee restaurants [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/sol/sol20241021-1 ]
* $317K for 45 Southern California home care workers [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20241017 ] 
* $120K from a Huddle House franchisee for 177 Oklahoma employees [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20241022 ]
* $105K for 28 Grand Rapids restaurant workers [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/sol/sol20241021-0 ]


Four men seated in a crowd smile. They hold signs reading, “Promise made, promise kept,” “Carpenter strong,” and “Union strong.” [ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBRZ-kDJSY5/ ]



In Detroit, Su highlights $635M in funding to secure carpenter’s union pension plan [ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBRZ-kDJSY5/ ]

More than 22,000 workers, retirees and their families in the Detroit Carpenter's [ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBRZ-kDJSY5/ ]Pension Plan had been bracing for reductions of as much as 70 percent in their hard-earned retirement benefits. Thanks to the Biden-Harris administration and the American Rescue Plan Act, these retirement savings are now secure and will be paid in full. On Oct. 17, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. approved $635 million in Special Financial Assistance for the pension plan. Last week, Acting Secretary Su celebrated the victory with union leaders, representatives, workers and labor advocates in Detroit.



Different styles of stone slabs standing in vertical rows. [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20241017 ]



Alabama countertop company failed to protect worker fatally struck by stone slab [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20241017 ]

OSHA investigators found Huntsville Granite and Marble [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20241017 ] could have prevented the death of a 33-year-old employee who was struck by a slab weighing thousands of pounds. “With the right procedures, equipment and training, this tragedy could have been avoided,” said OSHA Area Office Director Joel Batiz in Birmingham. OSHA issued the company citations for five serious violations.



Acting Secretary Su speaks on a stage. The lectern in front of her has a sign reading Michigan Home Care Workers United. [ https://www.threads.net/@actsecjuliesu/post/DBZGrP3sl6S ]



Su applauds home care workers’ organizing success in Michigan [ https://www.threads.net/@actsecjuliesu/post/DBZGrP3sl6S ]

In Michigan, Acting Secretary Su applauded a recent bill [ https://www.threads.net/@actsecjuliesu/post/DBZGrP3sl6S ] to allow the state’s individual homecare workers to unionize as welcome news for the care community and for the workers and families who rely on the services they provide. Citing a department study that shows how investing in the care infrastructure and family-supporting policies at levels similar to other countries could increase the U.S. labor force and generate up to $775 billion annually, Su said: “When we talk about care infrastructure, and people say, ‘How can we afford that?’ I say, ‘How can we afford not to?’”



Acting Secretary Su with 11 other people outside a childcare center, including Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Rep. Chris Pappas. [ https://www.threads.net/@actsecjuliesu/post/DBZuebkKNW8 ]



Investing in care as infrastructure and growing the workforce [ https://www.threads.net/@actsecjuliesu/post/DBZuebkKNW8 ]

Acting Secretary Su, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Rep. Chris Pappas gathered in New Hampshire [ https://www.threads.net/@actsecjuliesu/post/DBZuebkKNW8 ]to visit A Place to Grow, a Brentwood early learning center. They discussed the economic impact of childcare workers and how the Biden-Harris administration’s historic investments are supporting caregiving and increasing the number of women in the nation’s labor force. The center’s apprenticeship program provides a pathway for care workers into good, family-sustaining jobs. While in the Granite State, the acting secretary also stopped by the New Hampshire Job Corps Center, where graduates will be connected with employers working on more than $1 billion in infrastructure projects.



Bearded man with glasses in flannel shirt sitting across a table from a woman on a laptop as she assists the man with an application for financial assistance.



Getting workers back on their feet when they need it most

We’ve awarded up to $5.8 million in grants this week, including:


* Up to $5 million to support disaster-relief jobs and training for Tennessee residents affected by Tropical Storm Helene [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20241018 ]
* $800,000 to help employ and train Kansas residents displaced by layoffs and closures [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20241018-0 ]


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT



Image of a sign in front of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center that reads “UT Southwestern Medical Center.” In front of the signs are decorative shrubs and a small tree. [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ofccp/ofccp20241021 ]



Alleged bias costs $900K [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ofccp/ofccp20241021 ]

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ofccp/ofccp20241021 ]will pay $900,000 in back wages and interest to resolve alleged racial hiring discrimination affecting 6,123 Black applicants.

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Trench fill foundation dig for new build house. [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20241018 ]



Preventable trench death [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20241018 ]

Three Massachusetts contractors [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20241018 ] didn’t protect a worker who died after being struck and then buried by a house foundation in a 6-foot-deep trench. They face $283,115 in penalties.

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A yellow machine safety guard for a stainless steel cold rolling machine [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20241021 ]



Manufacturer fined $257K [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20241021 ]

A Texas school furnishings manufacturer’s [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20241021 ] lack of machine guards endangered employees, including one who suffered permanent injuries.

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Outdoor water park. Multi-colored slides and pools. [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20241021 ]



Child labor violations [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20241021 ]

A Jacksonville waterpark [ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20241021 ] faces $151,606 in penalties for assigning minors with hazardous work and allowing them to work late hours.

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WORKING FOR YOU



A woman wearing a nametag that says “Kimberly Rush” stands in a conference room, surrounded by other women. She is smiling. [ https://blog.dol.gov/2024/10/21/grants-are-funding-life-changing-improvements-for-workers ]



Grant funds change workers’ lives [ https://blog.dol.gov/2024/10/21/grants-are-funding-life-changing-improvements-for-workers ]

As Kimberly Rush struggled to juggle oncology appointments [ https://blog.dol.gov/2024/10/21/grants-are-funding-life-changing-improvements-for-workers ] and work at a Safeway deli, she also found time to attend a cable-wiring program at Mesa Community College in Phoenix, a 45-minute drive to and from her home. Fortunately, her training was funded in part by one of our grants, which emphasize not just skills-building, but providing related assistance to ensure workers have the support they need to pursue their dreams. Read how this grant allowed Rush to pursue her dreams.



POST OF THE WEEK



?? STOP SCROLLING and #ListenUp! Have you ever considered your ears' well-being? Protect them from workplace noise with PPE because noise damage is irreversible – once the hearing cells in your ears are damaged, they don't grow back. EVER. ?? https://lnkd.in/ei5m8K7J
-OSHA [ https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:7253058760896630784 ]



IN THE NEWS




* *NPR: *Proposed rule will require insurers to make over-the-counter birth control free [ https://www.npr.org/2024/10/20/g-s1-29117/over-the-counter-birth-control-condoms-free ] 
* *FedScoop: *Labor Department’s AI roadmap geared toward ‘worker empowerment’ [ https://fedscoop.com/labor-department-ai-roadmap-workers-unions/ ] 
* *KTSM-TV El Paso: *Contractor fails to pay workers, sentenced for wage theft [ https://www.ktsm.com/local/el-paso-news/el-paso-contractor-fails-to-pay-workers-sentenced-for-wage-theft/ ] 


Access to Good Jobs for All [ https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/initiatives/ndeam ]




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