Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co. violates rights of Connecticut worker who reported injury and filed OSHA complaint

Railroad ordered by U.S. Labor Department to pay maximum punitive damages

HARTFORD, Conn. — Metro-North's actions against an injured worker have resulted in the largest punitive damages ever in a retaliation case under the Federal Railroad Safety Act. A recent investigation by the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration uncovered these details and revealed that the worker, who is employed as a coach cleaner for the commuter rail carrier, was retaliated against after reporting the knee injury he suffered on Nov. 17, 2011. As a result, the company has been ordered to pay the employee a total of $250,000 in punitive damages, $10,000 in compensatory damages and to cover reasonable attorney fees.

Read more here. 

Fiduciaries of national multi-employer benefit plan based in Cherry Hill, N.J., ordered to pay $4.7 million in assets and interest

US Labor Department found defendants operated plan for fake union

CHERRY HILL, N.J. — A federal judge has found the fiduciaries of a defunct national multi-employer benefit plan based in Cherry Hill, are liable for approximately $4.7 million in assets that were improperly diverted. James Doyle and Cynthia Holloway, fiduciaries to the Professional Industrial Trade Workers Union Health and Welfare Fund, must make restitution to the plan, with interest, for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Read more here. 

Paying Tribute to the Miners

   U.S. miners had and still have some of the most dangerous jobs, little opportunity to branch out and pursue other lines of work, and are usually subjected to manual labor for most or all of their lives. The Mine Safety and Health Administration has marked National Miners Day to show respect and appreciation for the work that has been done by this labor force.

Read the Department of Labor's news release here.

Federal Law Protecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

  The fight for LGBTQ rights has been a long and hard one. A major victory for the LGBTQ community was when the President signed Executive Order 13672, protecting individuals against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in all federally contracted companies and organizations. After years of fighting by many groups, the most well known of which is the Human Rights Campaign, there was a law passed that affected twenty five percent of the United States workforce.

Click here to read the Department of Labor's news release by the OFCCP written December 3rd, 2014.

Child Labor Goods

There are many goods in the United States that are known to be made by child labor in foreign countries. Cell phones are one of the most obvious, well-known objects that are made over seas by children. The Department of Labor has created an updated list of all of the objects and goods produced by child labor, forced labor.

Click here to read the Department of Labor News Release from the first of December of 2014.