U.S. Department of Labor Archives - The Florida Capital Star

Walz Granted Hundreds of Thousands to Meatpacker That Had Kids Cleaning Processing Plant

October 21, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz awarded up to $126,000 in taxpayer funds to meat processor JBS after an investigation revealed some of the company’s processing plants were cleaned using child labor.

The U.S. Department of Labor found in February 2023 that at least 31 children were employed “in hazardous occupations to clean dangerous powered equipment during overnight shifts at JBS USA plants,” though they were employed by a third-party cleaning service rather than by JBS directly. Minnesota’s Office of Higher Education then announced a grant in June to fund job training for 28 staff members at the JBS plant in Worthington, Minnesota — a plant at which at least 22 children had been illegally employed to clean.

Under Walz, Minnesota Bilked Hundreds of Millions Even After Warnings About ‘Pervasive’ Failures

August 9, 2024 Just the News

As his administration ramped up its government giveaways in the midst of a pandemic and border crisis, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was warned his team did not have adequate protections for the taxpayer money it was sending out the door to nonprofit groups and workers.

In fact, auditors just last February reported they found “pervasive noncompliance” inside the Walz administration with grant management policies that were “signaling systemic issues regarding grants oversight.”

New Federal Rule Could Add Costly Burden to Retirement Plans

October 9, 2023 The Center Square

A new U.S. Department of Labor regulatory effort could impact retirement plans by requiring them to monitor whether plan members access electronic communications, a cost that may be passed on to consumers.

Chair of the Education and the Workforce Committee, U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., sent a letter Thursday to the Employee Benefits Security Administration raising concerns about the federal agency’s Request for Information, a document suggesting the agency will add more regulatory burden onto retirement accounts.

More regulations could mean more fees and higher costs for some Americans with retirement plans.

IG Reports ‘Historic’ COVID Unemployment Funds Lost, Congress Investigates

November 14, 2022November 13, 2022 The Center Square

Reports indicate as much as $400 billion in COVID-19 unemployment relief were likely lost to waste and fraudsters. Lawmakers want answers.

Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor demanding documents and information related to the unemployment fraud.

Federal Court Orders Parts Manufacturer for Two Car Companies to End ‘Oppressive’ Child Labor Practices

October 12, 2022October 11, 2022 Florida Capital Star Staff

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) obtained a federal court order to restrict an Alabama-based automotive parts manufacturer for Kia and Hyundai from employing children, many as young as 13, according to a recent DOL press release.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama ruled in a September consent judgment that the company, SL Alabama LLC, a subsidiary of South Korean SL Corporation, violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and engaged in “oppressive” labor practices, the release stated. The ruling follows an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division, and will effectively block SL Alabama LLC from shipping any products within 30 days of violations.

Commentary: Louisiana’s Bold Move to Overhaul High School Career and Technical Education

April 19, 2022April 18, 2022 RealClearWire

America’s high schools have problems. Nearly twenty years ago, Bill Gates observed that the existing model is obsolete — that, even when high schools “work,” the results are too often mediocre. In 2016, The Education Trust found that 47 percent of high schoolers graduated prepared for neither college nor a career. In 2018, Gallup reported that two-thirds of high schoolers described themselves as wholly or partially disengaged. And, just last month, the National Center for Education Statistics concluded that high schools are plagued by grade inflation: Over the past decade, grades have risen to a record high even as math and science performance by 12th graders has edged down.

Florida Unemployment Claims Lowest Since December 2019

January 5, 2022January 4, 2022 Casey Owens

Despite the surge in the new COVID-19 Omicron variant that is especially prominent in Florida, the number of new unemployment claims during the week that ended on December 25th was the lowest since before the pandemic during the same time period in 2019.

According to a news release by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) on Thursday, the number of initial unemployment claims in Florida for that week was only 3,982 – down 1,178 from 5,160 the week before.

Report Shows Lowest Florida Jobless Claims Since Before the Pandemic

November 28, 2021November 27, 2021 Casey Owens

The four-week average number of Florida jobless claims reached its lowest mark since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Department of Labor (USDL) released the information on Wednesday.

The data reflected 5,343 first-time unemployment claims filed in Florida during the week that ended Nov. 20, which dropped the four-week average to 6,045 claims.

Feds Urge Circuit Court to Reject Florida Request for Hold on Vaccine Rule

November 15, 2021November 14, 2021 Admin

Federal attorneys for the Biden administration filed a document Friday evening requesting the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeal to reject a potential hold on the rule issued by Biden that would mandate employees of businesses of 100 or more people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or be regularly tested and forced to wear a mask.

The hold on Biden’s employee vaccine rule was requested by Florida, Alabama, and Georgia who argue that the rule, established under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), oversteps its authority and would result in thousands of people losing their jobs.

Biden Nominates Former Florida State Senator for U.S. Labor Department Appointment

July 6, 2021July 5, 2021 Casey Owens

A former Florida Senator and Democrat, José Javier Rodriguez, was nominated by President Joe Biden for Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Administration (ETA) for the U.S. Department of Labor.

Rodriquez served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to 2016, and served on the Florida Senate from 2016 to 2020, representing Districts 112 and 37 respectively.

Initial Unemployment Claims in Florida Decrease

July 3, 2021July 2, 2021 Casey Owens

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported a decrease in unemployment claims in Florida for the week that ended June 26th, the last day jobless Floridians were able to receive federal unemployment assistance.

Data released Thursday by the DOL shows 6,086 new claims for that week, a decrease of 7,667 claims from the week that ended on June 19th.

Florida Unemployment Claims Lowest Since Before the Pandemic

June 12, 2021June 11, 2021 Casey Owens

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported the lowest number of initial unemployment claims in Florida since the week that ended March 14th, 2020.

According to the DOL, the week that ended June 5th recorded an estimated 5,800 initial unemployment claims, which is down from a revised number of 8,257 claims from the week before.

Florida Unemployment Claims Trending Down

May 9, 2021May 8, 2021 Casey Owens

Governor DeSantis lifted the COVID-19 restrictions in the state of Florida and industries look to begin returning back to normalcy starting with the issue regarding unemployment claims. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, for the week that ended May 1st, 2020, there were approximately 18,355 first-time unemployment claims in Florida and 116,304 unemployment claims by individuals who had already filed an initial unemployment claim, also known as insured claims.

The 18,355 initial unemployment claims from that week is a 9,662 decrease from the 28,017 initial claims from the week before and the number of insured claims decreased from 129,628 in that same week. The decrease in new claims reflects the national number of new claims during that week which was 498,000, a decrease of 92,000 from the prior week and the lowest number of initial claims since March 14th, 2020 when the number of new claims was only 256,000.