U.S. Department of Labor ends Program that allowed Employers to self-report Federal Minimum Wage and Overtime Violations

U.S. Department of Labor ends Program that allowed Employers to self-report Federal Minimum Wage and Overtime Violations| site |


PAID program enabled employers to avoid accountability


Washington, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that the immediate end of its Payroll Audit Independent Determination program launched by the department’s Wage and Hour Division in 2018. The program allowed employers to self-report federal minimum wage and overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act to avoid litigation, penalties or damages, and prohibited affected workers from taking any private action on the identified violations. “Workers are entitled to every penny they have earned,” said Wage and Hour Division Principal Deputy Administrator Jessica Looman. “The Payroll Audit Independent Determination program deprived workers of their rights and put employers that play by the rules at a disadvantage. The U.S. Depart...

State Department Inspector General: No Violations of Law, Rules or Policy; No Misuse of Taxpayer Resources | site |



(Information contained in U.S. Department of State's Office of the Spokesperson press release media note: December 10, 2020)

Secretary and Mrs. Pompeo fully vindicated from baseless claims reported as fact by Democrats and Media

The State Department’s Office of Inspector General released its report to Congress today on the representational travel by the spouse of the Secretary of State. The report alleges that the OIG “received a whistleblower complaint related to travel by the spouse of the Secretary of State.”

ALL ACTIONS LEGAL AND JUSTIFIED

After a nearly year-long investigation by the OIG interviewing dozens of employees and reviewing thousands of pages of documents, the report cleared the Secretary, his family, and his entire team, finding:

• There was no violation of any law or

...

U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA announces $2,856,533 in Coronavirus Violations | site |


(November 13, 2020) - - On November 13, 2020 the U.S. Department of Labor published information that included the following:

WASHINGTON, DC – Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic through Nov. 5, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued 204 citations arising from inspections for violations relating to coronavirus, resulting in proposed penalties totaling $2,856,533.

OSHA inspections have resulted in the agency citing employers for violations, including failures to:

• Implement a written respiratory protection program;

• Provide a medical evaluation, respirator fit test, training on the proper use of a respirator and personal protective equipment;

• Report an injury, illness or fatality;

• Record an injury or illness on OSHA recordkeeping forms; and

• Comply with the General Duty Clause of

...

U.S. says Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Moscow Mechanism Report Details Widespread Rights Violations in Belarus | site |



(November 5, 2020) - - Today, November 5, 2020, the U.S. Department of State published the following statement made by U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo: The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)’s Moscow Mechanism report on Belarus released on November 5 describes sustained human rights violations and abuses committed on a massive scale and with impunity by the Belarusian authorities during the fraudulent August 9 election and its aftermath. The abuses against peaceful demonstrators, opposition activists, and journalists include torture, arbitrary detention, and curtailment of the exercise of freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. We remain inspired by the resilience and dignity of the Belarusian people. The United States continues to call on the Belarusian autho...

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Charges Multinational Telecommunications Company With FCPA Violations | site |



(December 6, 2019) - - Today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published the following information: Washington D.C., Dec. 6, 2019 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Sweden-based Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson was charged with engaging in a large-scale bribery scheme involving the use of sham consultants to secretly funnel money to government officials in multiple countries. The bribes netted Ericsson hundreds of millions in profits. To resolve these alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (FCPA) and charges from a parallel criminal investigation, Ericsson has agreed to pay more than $1 billion to the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice and to install an independent compliance monitor. The SEC’s complaint alleges that from 2011 through 2017, Ericsson subsidiaries obtained business value...

U.S. Food and Drug Administration says California-based Food Manufacturer Agrees to Stop Production after Repeated Food Safety Violations | site |



(November 26, 2019) - - Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published the following information:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that recently Golden Gate Soy Products, a California-based food manufacturer, has agreed to discontinue selling food products until the company complies with federal regulations and other requirements. This action follows several inspections conducted by the FDA, which found Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono) in the company’s food preparation area and that the company was holding food for distribution in insanitary conditions. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley for the Northern District of California entered a consent decree of permanent injunction on Nov. 22, 2019, between the U.S. and Golden Gate Soy Products Inc., and the company...

U.S. Treasury Targets Russian Bank and Other Facilitators of North Korean United Nations Security Council Violations

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Washington, DC - - (August 3, 2018) - - The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced additional sanctions related to North Korea, continuing the enforcement of existing UN and U.S. sanctions. Today’s action targets a Russian bank for knowingly facilitating a significant transaction on behalf of an individual designated for weapons of mass destruction-related activities in connection with North Korea. OFAC also targeted one individual and two entities for facilitating North Korean illicit financial activity. This action reinforces the United States’ ongoing commitments to upholding the decisions of the UN Security Council (UNSC). “The United States will continue to enforce UN and U.S. sanctions and shut down illici...

New York Stock Exchange to Pay $14 Million Penalty for Multiple Violations

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March 12, 2018



Washington, DC - - (March 6, 2018) - - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it charged the New York Stock Exchange and two affiliated exchanges with regulatory failures in connection with multiple episodes, including several disruptive market events. The charges arose from five separate investigations and include the first-ever charged violation of Regulation SCI. The Commission adopted Reg SCI to strengthen the technology infrastructure and integrity of the U.S. securities markets, and today charged two NYSE exchanges with violating Reg SCI’s business continuity and disaster recovery requirement. In settlement, the exchanges agreed to pay a $14 million penalty. According to the SEC’s order, the violations include erroneously implementing a market-wi...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection to Implement Executive Order Establishing Enhanced Collection and Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties and Violations of Trade and Customs Laws





Washington, DC - - (March 31, 2017) - - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will begin to implement the Executive Order “Establishing Enhanced Collection and Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties and Violations of Trade and Customs Laws.” The Executive Order, signed today, promotes the efficient and effective administration of U.S. customs and trade laws by establishing enhanced measures to collect duties and a heightened enforcement posture for trade violations that threaten the safety and economic security of the United States.

“The men and women of CBP are committed to enforcing the trade laws of the United States to defend the economic competitiveness of domestic industries against unfair trade practices and dangerous...

U.S. Food and Drug Administration says Colorado Unapproved Drug and Dietary Supplement Makers Ordered to Cease Operations for Federal Violations





Washington, DC - - (March 14, 2017) - - Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published the following information:

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Marcia S. Krieger for the U.S. District Court for Colorado entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against EonNutra LLC, CDSM LLC and HABW LLC, manufacturers and distributors of unapproved drugs and dietary supplements, and their owner, Michael Floren, requiring Floren’s businesses to immediately cease operations until they come into compliance with federal laws.

Floren marketed products on many websites, including www.sotosupplements.com, www.deerantlermax.com, www.warhorselabs.com, www.primalragenutrition.com and www.dnnutrition.com. In addition, his products were sold in a retail location in Colorado Springs, Colorado. �...

U.S. Education Department Reaches Agreement with Palo Alto Unified School District to Ensure Prompt and Equitable Responses to Reports of Violations of Title IX




Washington, DC - - (March 9, 2017) - - The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has reached an agreement with the Palo Alto Unified School District in Palo Alto, California after finding that the district's handling of complaints violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.

During OCR's June 2013 proactive investigation of the district's handling of Title IX complaints, OCR received a complaint in March 2014 alleging that the district failed to respond promptly and equitably to reports that students were subjected to sexual harassment. OCR's investigation included reviewing the policies and procedures utilized by the district,...

Company to Pay $9.5 Million for False Reporting of Safety Inspections and Clean Water Act Violations That Led to Explosion in Gulf of Mexico



February 24, 2017


Washington, DC - - (February 23, 2017) - - Wood Group PSN Inc., a Nevada corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas, was ordered to pay $9.5 million today in two separate cases involving their conduct in the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, Wood Group PSN was ordered to pay $7 million for falsely reporting over several years that personnel had performed safety inspections on offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico in the Western District of Louisiana, and $1.8 million for negligently discharging oil into the Gulf of Mexico in violation of the Clean Water Act after an explosion on an offshore facility in the Eastern District of Louisiana, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeff Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Attorney for the...