Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report In the week ending April 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 212,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 211,000 to 212,000. The 4-week moving average was 214,500, unchanged from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 214,250 to 214,500.
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US Department of Labor recovers $447K in back wages, damages for 60 grocery workers denied overtime by Kern County employer SACRAMENTO, CA – The U.S. Department of Labor has recovered $447,952 in back wages and damages from the operator of three Kern County grocery stores for 60 workers after a federal investigation found the employer illegally withheld overtime wages for hours over 40 in a workweek.The department’s Wage and Hour Division determined the owners of Fiesta Market and Mi Rancho Market in McFarland and Fiesta Market #2 in Lamont excluded the affected employees from overtime eligibility and, by doing so, failed to pay them overtime as required by law. The division also found the employer did not meet federal recordkeeping requirements. The employer’s actions violated provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The investigation led the division to recover $223,976 in unpaid overtime wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages. In addition, the department assessed $24,210 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the employer’s violations.“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that all workers receive a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Cesar Avila in Sacramento. “The division uses every tool at its disposal to protect workers’ rights and help employers understand their obligations and avoid violations. We invite anyone with questions to contact us for assistance.” Workers can use the Wage and Hour Division’s Workers Owed Wages search tool to check if they are owed back wages collected by the division. Employers and workers can contact the division confidentially for help at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243), regardless of where they are from. The division can speak with callers in more than 200 languages. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and i-OS Timesheet App for free in English or Spanish.  This news release is also available in Spanish.   
http://www.dol.gov/newsroom/re....leases/whd/whd202404

Departamento de Trabajo recupera $447,000 para 60 trabajadores de tiendas de alimentos a los que empleador en condado de Kern no pagó horas extras SACRAMENTO, CA. El Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. recuperó $447,952 en salarios y compensación por daños a operador de tres tiendas de alimentación del condado de Kern para 60 trabajadores después de que una investigación federal descubrió que el empleador ilegalmente negó pagar como sobretiempo las horas trabajadas por encima de 40 en una semana laboral.La División de Horas y Salarios del departamento determinó que los dueños de Fiesta Market y Mi Rancho Market en McFarland, y Fiesta Market #2 en Lamont excluyeron a los empleados afectados de su elegibilidad de recibir pago por horas extras y, al hacerlo, no pagaron esas horas extras como exige la ley. La división también descubrió que el empleador no cumplía con los requisitos de mantenimiento de registros. Las acciones del empleador infringieron las disposiciones de la Ley de Normas Justas de Trabajo. La investigación llevó a la división a recuperar $223,976 en horas extras no pagadas y una cantidad igual en indemnización por daños. Además, el departamento impuso $24,210 en multas por el carácter intencional de las violaciones.“El Departamento de Trabajo de EE.UU. se compromete a garantizar que todos los trabajadores reciban un sueldo justo por una jornada de trabajo justa”, declaró el director distrital de la División de Horas y Salarios, Cesar Avila, en Sacramento. “La división utiliza todas las herramientas a su alcance para proteger los derechos de los trabajadores y ayudar a los empleadores a comprender sus obligaciones y evitar infracciones. Invitamos a todos los que tengan preguntas a que se pongan en contacto con nosotros para recibir ayuda”. Los trabajadores pueden utilizar la herramienta de búsqueda de sueldos debidos de la División de Horas y Salarios para comprobar si se les deben sueldos atrasados cobrados por la división. Tanto los empleadores como los trabajadores pueden ponerse en contacto, de manera confidencial, con la división para solicitar ayuda a través de su número de teléfono gratuito 1-866-4-US-WAGE (487-9243), independientemente de su lugar de procedencia. La división puede hablar con las personas que llaman en más de 200 idiomas. Tanto los empleadores como los trabajadores pueden ayudar a garantizar que las horas trabajadas y los pagos sean correctos al descargarse la aplicación gratuita de la Hoja de Tiempo del departamento para i-OS y Android disponible en inglés o en español.  Este comunicado de prensa también está disponible en inglés.   
http://www.dol.gov/newsroom/re....leases/whd/whd202404

US Department of Labor to honor workers whose jobs claimed their lives, recommit to protecting workers as nation marks Workers Memorial Day WASHINGTON – When the nation first observed Workers Memorial Day on April 28, 1970, an estimated 38 U.S. workers suffered fatal on-the-job injuries each day and many more endured debilitating respiratory diseases and other life-altering illnesses related to workplace exposures. Today, work-related injuries in the U.S. claim about 15 people’s lives a day. In 2022, a reported 5,486 workers suffered fatal injuries, an increase of 296 worker deaths from 2021. This year, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Mine Safety and Health Administration will remind the nation of the importance of protecting workers as families, friends, co-workers and the community at-large gather across the country for Workers Memorial Day events on Sunday, April 28 to honor people who didn’t come home at the end of their shift.“As we honor our fallen workers on Workers Memorial Day, we must remember that behind each workplace fatality there are loved ones enduring unimaginable grief,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “It is for the lost workers and those left behind that we continue to fight for every worker’s right to a safe working environment. Our mission at OSHA is to ensure that when someone leaves for work, they know they’ll come home safe at the end of the day to the arms of their families and loved ones.”To commemorate Workers Memorial Day, the department will host a week-long series of events from April 22-25 to educate employers on the importance of safe and healthy workplaces. The series will culminate at an in-person and nationally livestreamed event at 1 p.m. EDT at its Washington headquarters where OSHA and MSHA leaders will join AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and United Support & Memorial for Workplace Fatalities Board Member Stacy Sebold, whose 19-year-old son Mitchell McDaniel suffered fatally injuries in an agriculture incident in 2019.“We come together on Workers Memorial Day to remember those we have lost in workplace accidents and to prevent work-related illnesses,” said Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson. “At MSHA, we know a safe workplace isn’t a privilege – it’s every miner’s right. It is in the memory of fallen workers that we continue to advocate for each miner’s safety, health and dignity.”Join OSHA and MSHA representatives, families, workers, labor unions, advocates and others to remember the lives lost and raise awareness of workplace safety to help prevent future tragedies. Find a local Workers Memorial Day event.Learn more about Workers Memorial Day events nationwide and view the April 25 livestream. 
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Court appoints independent fiduciary to distribute $597K from abandoned profit-sharing plan to employees of defunct Delaware County mushroom farm Date of action:           April 15, 2024Type of action:          Consent judgment and order  Court:                            U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Defendants:               Joseph Silvestri & Son Inc., Donna M. Fecondo and Joseph Silvestri & Son Inc. Profit-Sharing Plan          Background: An investigation by the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration identified Employee Retirement Income Security Act violations by Joseph Silvestri & Son Inc. and owner Donna Fecondo who, as fiduciaries of the company’s profit-sharing plan — a company-sponsored plan that offered employee retirement benefits to participants and beneficiaries — failed to discharge their duties and terminate the plan since 2019 after the company’s mushroom farm in Garnet Valley ceased operations. EBSA found the fiduciaries and Fecondo, a plan fiduciary and trustee, failed to ensure distribution of $597,351 in plan assets to 67 participants and beneficiaries or retain a fiduciary to manage the plan and oversee distribution. Without oversight or control by responsible fiduciaries with the authority to operate and manage it, the plan is designated as an abandoned plan.On Jan. 13, 2022, Fecondo was indicted on two counts of failure to collect and pay employment taxes and four counts of failure to file tax returns. The indictment alleged that, Fecondo did not file tax returns in multiple years, and failed to remit taxes relating to the company and its employees. Fecondo later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 46 months of incarceration and ordered to pay nearly $600,000 in restitution. On EBSA’s behalf, the department’s Office of the Regional Solicitor in Philadelphia negotiated a consent judgment — executed March 4, 2024 — to resolve the ERISA violations. On April 4, 2024, the department filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against the company, Fecondo and the company’s profit-sharing plan. Shortly thereafter, the department moved for entry of the consent judgment, which the court granted. Relief: Under the consent judgment, the court removed the plan’s current fiduciaries, permanently barred them from serving as fiduciaries to any ERISA-covered plan in the future and appointed AMI Benefit Plan Administrators Inc. as the independent fiduciary to distribute the assets and terminate the plans. As part of the judgment, Fecondo agreed to forfeit her individual plan account to satisfy the order of restitution entered in her criminal matter.Quotes: “The law requires fiduciaries to discharge their duties solely in the best interest of plan participants and beneficiaries in a prudent manner. When this does not happen, the Department of Labor will use all available tools to hold them legally accountable,” said Acting Regional Solicitor of Labor Samantha Thomas in Philadelphia. “The department is determined to protect the assets of employee benefit plans and to hold fiduciaries responsible when they abandon plans and fail to protect assets,” said EBSA Regional Director Cristina O’Brien in Philadelphia. Julie A. Su, Acting Secretary of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor v. Joseph Silvestri & Son. Inc., Donna M. Fecondo and Joseph Silvestri & Son Inc. Profit Sharing Plan Civil Case No. 2:24-cv-01414
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