WHD News Release: [05/16/2013] Contact Name: Diana Petterson or Juan Rodriguez Phone Number: (972) 850-4710 or x4709 Email: Petterson.Diana@dol.gov or Rodriguez.Juan@dol.gov Release Number: 13-0722-DAL Rigid Oil Field Services in Hydro, Okla., pays more than $51,000 in overtime back wages following US Labor Department investigation HYDRO, Okla. — Rigid Oil Field Services LLC has agreed to pay $51,839 in overtime back wages to 28 current and former employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, which found violations of the overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The company misclassified its employees as independent contractors. The investigation by the division’s Oklahoma City District Office determined that laborers at Rigid Oil Field Services LLC were employees and not independent contractors as the company claimed. As a result of this misclassification, the company violated the FLSA by failing to pay its employees the legally required overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek. Additionally, Rigid Oil Services LLC failed to maintain hours worked and payro Read more text

WHD News Release: [05/20/2013] Contact Name: Joanna Hawkins or Leni Fortson Phone Number: (215) 861-5101 or x5102 Email: Hawkins.Joanna@dol.gov or uddyback-fortson.lenore@dol.gov Release Number: 13-0753-PHI Putnam County Board of Education agrees to organization-wide FMLA compliance, resolving US Labor Department lawsuit Consent judgment also includes order to pay $50,000 in lost wages to former employee WINFIELD, W.Va. — The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia has approved a consent judgment ordering the Putnam County Board of Education in Winfield to pay $50,000 in back wages to a former employee to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act. The judgment also orders the defendants to implement several specific measures to ensure future compliance with the FMLA. The department filed suit following an investigation by its Wage and Hour Division that found the school board unlawfully had terminated the employee, who worked as a maintenance electrician, when he asked to take time off to care for a parent with a serious health condition. Investigators found that the school b Read more text

ILAB News Release: [05/20/2013] Contact Name: Gloria Della or Egan Reich Phone Number: (202) 693-4679 or x4960 Email: Della.Gloria.D@dol.gov or Reich.Egan.2@dol.gov Release Number: 13-0972-NAT $9 million in funding available from US Labor Department to reduce child labor in Colombia WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $9 million competitive grant solicitation for one or more projects to reduce child labor in the artisanal mining sector of Colombia. Thousands of children work in Colombia’s mining sector, where they labor alongside adults and are exposed to physical injuries, dangerous tools, hazardous substances, toxic gases and explosions. Many people are not aware that children face these hazards. One or more qualifying organizations will receive funding to support Colombia’s efforts to identify and combat child labor in the mining sector, including by increasing educational opportunities for children and improving the livelihoods of families involved in artisanal mining. The project(s) will address occupational safety concerns to reduce the risk of injuries to adult miners an Read more text