OWCP announces final rule updating procedures for Federal Workers’ Compensation Act claims

Agency issues first major regulation updates since 1999 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs today released a final rule that revises and modernizes the procedures used in administering claims under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act. The rule, published in the June 28 Federal Register, modernizes those procedures to increase […]

OSHA Increases Enforcement Against Serious Safety and Health Violators

From October 2009 to September 2010, OSHA issued citations in 164 significant cases where penalties reached $100,000 or more. OSHA found conditions warranting use of its egregious citation policy in 20 of these inspections. In a so-called egregious case, an employer is cited on a per-instance basis under the same standard rather than grouping similar […]

New York Postal Worker Gets Two Months For OWCP Fraud

Press Release from the United States Attorney Northern District of New York September 10, 2010 Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, announced today that JAMES IZYK, 49, of Oswego, New York was sentenced in federal court today in Syracuse, N.Y. by U.S. District Court Judge Norman A. Mordue, […]

Department of Labor Files Motion To Consolidate USPS Electrical Safety Charges

APWU Web News Article 081-2010, Aug. 6, 2010 The Department of Labor (DOL) is seeking to consolidate complaints regarding the Postal Service’s ongoing and systemic violations of safe electrical work practices, and has initiated settlement discussions with the Postal Service in an attempt to correct the hazards. The DOL has invited the APWU to participate […]

OSHA Fines USPS $357,000 For Safety Violations At Boston, MA Facility

APWU Web News Article 076-2010, Aug. 3, 2010 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the Postal Service nine “willful and serious” safety violations for exposing employees to electrical hazards at a Boston, MA postal facility. The USPS has been ordered to pay $357,000 in fines. OSHA issued the Postal Service citations [PDF] after […]

US Labor Department’s OSHA proposes $272,000 in Fines Against USPS Capitol Heights MD Mail Processing Facility

for exposing workers to electrical hazards at Capitol Heights, Md., facility CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the U.S. Postal Service for workplace safety violations related to electrical hazards found at the Capitol Heights Processing and Distribution Center. Proposed penalties total $272,000. “These citations and […]

Department of Labor Safety Complaint Underscores Widespread, Systemic Violations

APWU Web The Department of Labor filed a complaint [PDF] against the Postal Service on July 6 for ongoing and systemic violations of safe electrical work practices, marking the first time the department has sought an “enterprise-wide” remedy. “When the same safety violation is discovered in multiple locations of an organization, we need an enterprise-wide […]

OSHA Fines USPS $210,000 At Eagan Facility

According to the Star Tribune The U.S. Postal Service “knowingly put its workers in harm’s way” at its Eagan processing center by exposing employees to the potential for electrical shock, prompting federal officials to levy $210,000 in fines, U.S. officials announced Tuesday. The allegations from the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) contend […]

OSHA Proposes $430,000 in fines against USPS At Scarborough, Maine Mail Facility

AUGUSTA, Maine — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the U.S. Postal Service for alleged willful and repeat violations of safety standards following an inspection at the Southern Maine Processing and Distribution Center in Scarborough, Maine. The Postal Service faces a total of $430,000 in fines, chiefly for exposing […]

FMLA Leave Expanded to More Parents And Children

The Department of Labor issued the following clarification on the expanded FMLA regulations: Neither the statute nor the regulations restrict the number of parents a child may have under the FMLA.  For example, where a child’s biological parents divorce, and each parent remarries, the child will be the “son or daughter” of both the biological […]