Workplace Deaths in U.S. Rise 2 Percent, Federal Report Shows
More Americans died on the job last year, with the increase concentrated among older employees as well as self-employed and contract workers.
Labor
Tag: Workplace
Labor
Rail Giant BNSF Accused of Telling Arbitrator: ‘Our Way or The Highway’
A run-of-the-mill employment dispute could become a major embarrassment for railroad giant BNSF over an allegation that a senior executive threatened to blackball an arbitrator from the industry if she ruled against the company.
Consumer Protection
The Hard Truth About the Softest Mineral
We use talc in many up close and personal ways: to powder babies’ bottoms, as an ingredient in cosmetics, a filler in capsules and pills–even as a food additive. Yet talc, the softest known mineral, is dug from the ground, where it can keep bad company. Talc is sometimes interlaced with asbestos, which can cause fatal diseases in those who inhale its microscopic, lung-scarring fibers.
Labor
On the Warpath Against Independent Contractor Schemes
When National Consolidated Couriers, Inc., a Northern California delivery service, was under investigation by the U.S. Labor Department for possible wage violations, government officials told owner Tanweer Ahmed not to delete emails that could be evidence in the case.
Labor
Study: Cancer Risk High for Firefighters, But Higher for Minority Firefighters
A new study has found that firefighters have a greater than average risk of developing some types of cancer, and that black and Latino firefighters face the highest risk of all.
Labor
Smoke (Still) Gets in Your Eyes at Many Job Sites
Despite the flood of state and local laws since the 1990s to ban indoor smoking, millions of Americans still are exposed to secondhand smoke on the job.
Labor
Winning in Court Just the First Step for Wage Theft Victims
When workers get cheated out of wages, it's often not enough just to win a court order for back pay. Often the court ruling is a hollow victory because the employer has gone out of business or claims to have little or no money to pay the judgment.
Labor
U.S. Crackdown on Pay Violations Yields $240.8 Million in Wage Recoveries
U.S. labor investigators recovered $240.8 million in back wages for American workers last year amid an intensified crackdown on pay abuses in low-skill industries.
Labor
Labor Department’s ‘Hot Goods’ Case Charging Underpayment of Farmworkers Goes Up in Smoke
An attempted crackdown on wage and hour violations on two Oregon berry farms has ended in a retreat by the U.S. Labor Department, which dropped all charges against two growers it had accused of failing to pay the minimum wage to about 1,000 workers.
Labor
Heat Rising Over ‘Hot Goods’
An attempted crackdown on minimum wage and child labor violations at berry farms in the Pacific Northwest has sparked a backlash that threatens one of the U.S. Labor Department's most potent tools for enforcing protections for farm workers.
Labor
Latino Workers Dying at Higher Rates in Job Accidents, Report Shows
As Latino workers take on more and more of the nation’s toughest and dirtiest jobs, they increasingly are paying for it with their lives.
Labor
Federal Wage Investigation Snags Another Major League Baseball Team, the Oakland A’s
A third Major League Baseball team—the Oakland Athletics—has agreed to pay back wages and damages to a group of current and former employees to resolve government claims that they had been illegally underpaid.
Labor
Investigation of Pay Practices Targets Two More Major League Teams, the Orioles and A’s
A federal investigation of pay practices in Major League Baseball has been expanded to include two more teams—the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland A’s—bringing to four the number of clubs that have come under scrutiny for possible violations of U.S. wage standards.
Labor
Recycling Firm Accused of Wage Violations, Threats Against Workers Agrees to Settlement
A Los Angeles recycling business accused of violating federal minimum wage and overtime rules, and pressuring workers to lie to government investigators, has agreed to pay more than $74,000 in back wages and damages to 13 employees in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Labor
Fear Stifles Complaints of Wage Abuse
Karim Ameri decided to play hardball after learning that his Los Angeles recycling business was under investigation for allegedly failing to pay the minimum wage or overtime to workers putting in 60-hour weeks.