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Statement by Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on October jobs report WASHINGTON – Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su issued the following statement on the October 2024 Employment Situation report: “Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the American economy added 12,000 jobs in October, a month marked by significant impacts from hurricanes and strike activity. Despite these temporary disruptions, our economy continues to be strong. President Biden is the first president since data has been collected who has seen job growth every single month of their presidency. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent, labor force participation remains high, and inflation continues to decrease. This jobs report reflects an atypical month rather than a shift in the broader economic outlook. “Strike activity, specifically, reduced employment growth by 41,000, temporarily impacting payrolls in industries like transportation equipment manufacturing. Yet, these events do not signal economic weakness. Instead, striking workers reflect a robust economy where workers have the power to demand better wages and working conditions. "After accounting for revisions, our three-month average for employment gains through September stands at 148,000. This stability, coupled with strong 0.4 percent monthly wage growth in October, a three-month annual wage growth pace of 4.5 percent, and a 2.8 percent annual GDP growth rate in the third quarter, demonstrates the resilience of the American economy. Inflation continues to decrease, while consumer spending grew at an impressive 3.7 percent rate in the third quarter, underscoring a sustainable path forward. “The Biden-Harris administration remains steadfast in its commitment to building a strong economy that benefits all working Americans. Our outlook remains strong, and we are dedicated to ensuring that every worker has the opportunity to thrive in a stable and growing economy.” 
http://www.dol.gov/newsroom/re....leases/osec/osec2024


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US Department of Labor reports distressed pension assistance program has protected benefits for more than 1.2M workers, retirees, families WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Employee Benefits Security Administration has issued a report illustrating how the American Rescue Plan has protected the financially distressed pension plans of more than 1.2 million U.S. workers, retirees and their families, ensuring they receive the retirement benefits they earned. The department’s report on the impact of the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act finds that, as of October 2024, more than $69 billion in Special Financial Assistance has been approved for 98 multiemployer pension plans whose participants faced reductions in retirement benefits averaging 41 percent. The report also shows the American Rescue Plan already has provided more than $1.6 billion in restorative payments and ongoing benefit payments to more than 121,000 retirees, an average of about $13,600 per retiree. Almost half of the $1.6 billion reversed retirees’ previous benefit reductions.“A pension is more than a number on a sheet of paper; it’s the ability to stop working after years of making a good, honest living, to rest your aching knees and aching backs, and to go to bed without setting an alarm clock. A pension isn’t given. It’s earned,” said Acting Secretary Julie Su. “The Biden-Harris administration’s American Rescue Plan has already delivered on the promise of ensuring a secure and dignified retirement for more than 1.2 million workers and retirees, and there’s still more to come. We ultimately expect pension plans covering more than two million workers and retirees to remain solvent and able to pay out full benefits for the next several decades.”Special Financial Assistance has safeguarded plan benefits for union workers and retirees in many industries, including nearly 620,000 Teamsters, more than 152,000 in the United Food and Commercial Workers International, over 103,000 Bakery and Confectionery workers, more than 89,000 United Steelworkers, over 50,000 Communications Workers of America, as well as 49,000 union musicians and 29,000 carpenters.The pension protection legislation in the American Rescue Plan was named for the late Butch Lewis, a former Teamster who fought to protect union retirees’ pensions from harsh benefit cuts through no fault of their own. Ultimately, the act is expected to ensure roughly two million workers’ and retirees’ pension plans remain solvent and able to pay full benefits workers earn through at least 2051.Read the EBSA report on Special Financial Assistance. Read a White House fact sheet on the impact of the Butch Lewis Act. 
http://www.dol.gov/newsroom/re....leases/ebsa/ebsa2024


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Napag-alaman ng Departamento ng Paggawa ng US ang pagsasawalang-bahala ng isang kumpanya sa pangangalagang pantahanan sa Temple City sa mga kinakailangang pagbabayad para sa overtime sa ikatlong pagkakataon, at naka-recover ng $145,000 na halaga ng hindi Employer:      T.G.H. Management Group Inc., na ipinapatakbo bilang Temple Garden Homes                        5120 Baldwin Ave.                        Temple City, CA 91780   Mga napag-alaman ng imbestigasyon: Napag-alaman ng imbestigasyon ng Dibisyon ng Sahod at Oras ng Departamento ng Paggawa ng U.S. na ang employer sa pangangalagang pantahanan, na nagpapatakbo ng apat na lokasyon ng Temple Garden Homes para sa mga taong may mga kapansanan sa pag-unlad, ay muling hindi nagbayad ng kinakailangang pagbabayad para sa overtime sa 70 empleyado para sa lahat ng oras na higit sa 40 oras sa isang linggo ng trabaho, na lumalabag sa Batas sa Pantay na Pamantayan sa Paggawa. Napag-alaman din ng dibisyon na hindi nagpanatili ang employer ng mga tumpak na rekord ayon sa kinakailangan.Na-recover na Sahod, Bayad-pinsala:   $72,837 na halaga ng hindi ibinayad na sahod sa 70 manggagawa                                                                      $72,837 na halaga ng liquidated na bayad-pinsala sa 70 manggagawa                                                                   $21,840 na halaga ng sibil na multang salapi para sa kusang-loob at umuulit na paglabagSipi: “Sa ikatlong pagkakataon, kusang-loob na nilabag ng Temple Garden Homes ang mga karapatan bilang manggagawa at tiwala ng mga empleyado na pinapangalagaan ang mga pinakabulnerableng tao ng ating mga komunidad,” sabi ng Kahaliling Pandistritong Direktor ng Dibisyon ng Sahod at Oras na si Skarleth Kozlo sa West Covina, California. “Poprotektahan ng Departamento ng Paggawa ng U.S. ang mga manggagawa laban sa mga paulit-ulit na lumalabag at masasamang employer tulad nito.”Konteksto: Napag-alaman ng dalawang nakaraang imbestigasyon ng Sahod at Oras na nakagawa ang employer ng mga katulad na paglabag sa pagbabayad para sa overtime. Dahil sa mga imbestigasyong ito, naka-recover ang dibisyon ng kabuuang $102,694 na halaga ng mga hindi ibinayad na sahod para sa 50 empleyado, at nagpataw ng $9,500 na halaga ng multa laban sa Template Garden Homes.Magagamit ng mga manggagawa ang search tool  na Mga Manggagawang Dapat Bayaran ng Sahod (Workers Owed Wages) ng dibisyon para malaman kung dapat silang bayaran ng mga hindi ibinayad na sahod na nakolekta ng dibisyon. Puwedeng makipag-ugnayan ang mga employer at manggagawa sa Dibisyon ng Sahod at Oras para sa tulong sa toll-free na numero nito na 1-866-4-US-WAGE. Makakatulong ang parehong mga manggagawa at employer na matiyak na tumpak ang oras na nagtrabaho at kabayaran sa pamamagitan ng pag-download ng Android at iOS Timesheet App ng departamento nang libre sa wikang Ingles o Espanyol. This news brief is also available in English.
http://www.dol.gov/newsroom/re....leases/whd/whd202410


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US Department of Labor recovers $109K in back wages, benefits from Maryland contractor that underpaid 55 workers at Eglin AFB Employer:   Crystal Enterprises Inc.Employer address:    10837 Lanham Severn Road, Glenn Dale, MD 20769Investigation findings: A U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation determined that Crystal Enterprises Inc. failed to pay the required prevailing wage and health and welfare benefits to employees working at a U.S. Air Force training center dining facility on Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, a violation of the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act. By doing so, the employer also paid workers lower rates of pay for holidays and sick leave and vacation time used. Recoveries: $109,127 in back wages for 55 employees.Quote: “Government contracts come with stipulations to ensure workers are paid correctly, and employers must adhere to those requirements when bidding on and obtaining those contracts. This includes ensuring the proper job classifications and rates of pay are followed,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Vilma Bell in Orlando, Florida. “These workers provided the critical labor needed to feed service men and women on this military base. They deserve to take home every dollar they earn.”“Employers with questions about the standards required of them when they enter into federally funded contracts can contact us for help or find government contract compliance assistance information on our website,” Bell added. Background: The U.S. Air Force subcontracted Crystal Enterprises Inc. to perform full food services at the training center dining facility on Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers and employers can call the division confidentially with questions or concerns – regardless of where they are from – and the division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish. The Service Contract Act requires contractors and subcontractors performing services on prime contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay their workers employed under the contract no less than the local prevailing wages and fringe benefits for corresponding work on similar projects in the area.
http://www.dol.gov/newsroom/re....leases/whd/whd202410


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Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report In the week ending October 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 216,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 227,000 to 228,000. The 4-week moving average was 236,500, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 238,500 to 238,750.
http://www.dol.gov/newsroom/re....leases/eta/eta202410


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