Labor Department

Labor Department Labor employment standards and statistics, OSHA, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)... 

The Labor Department agency employs three strategies to promote safety and health in American workplaces strong, fair, and effective enforcement outreach, education, and compliance assistance and cooperative and voluntary programs. 

The efficiency of various indirect labor departments can be determined. 

Like the Federal wage and hour law. State law often exempts particular occupations or industries from the minimum labw standard generally applied to covered employment. Particular exemptions are not identified in this table. Users are encouraged to consult the laws of particular States in determining whether the State s minimum wage applies to a particular employment. This information often may be found at the websites maintained by Stale labor departments. l.inks to these websites are available at www.dol.gov/whd/contacts/state of.htm. 

If you re working outdoors, you re at risk for heat-related illnesses that can cause serious medical problems and even death, said Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis. But heat illness can be prevented. This Labor Department campaign will reach across the country with a very simple message — water, rest and shade. Each year, thousands of outdoor workers experience heat illness, which often manifests as heat exhaustion. If not quickly addressed, heat exhaustion can become heat stroke, which killed more than 30 workers last year. 

Note Many states have their own OSHA-approved occupational safety and health programs. Contact your state s labor department to determine if you should comply with the federal OSHA regulations or your state s requirements. Most states follow the same recordkeeping requirements and use the same forms as the federal regulations. Also note that some insurance companies have their own forms that you can use instead of the OSHA forms. Check with your insurance carrier for information. 

A federal enforcement agency responsible for the health and safety of the nation s miners. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), part of the U.S. Labor Department, helps to reduce deaths, injuries, and illnesses in the mining industry through regulation, inspection, and educational activities and programs. The agency develops and enforces safety and health rules applying to all U.S. mines, assists mine operators who have special compliance problems, and provides technical. 

OSHA fined Haasbach LLC 555,000 for 25 safety violations, including twelve willful violation. Another agency within the U.S. Labor Department also fined Haasbach 68,125 for violating child labor laws which prohibit anyone younger than 18 from performing hazardous work. ... 

If your state has a certification program for lead abatement contractors, be sure to hire a contractor who is fully certified. If your state does not have a certification program, hire someone who is certified in another state, if possible. This ensures that he or she has undergone training and demonstrated competence. Ask your state health or labor department for a list of contractors who have lead abatement licenses or consult the National Lead Abatement Council s Lead Listing service, included in Appendix B. 

Some employers may desire to subscribe to the quarterly update to the RTECS which is published in a microfiche edition. An annual subscription to the quarterly microfiche may be purchased from the GPO (Order the Microfiche Edition, Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances ). Both the printed edition and the microfiche edition of RTECS are available for review at many university and public libraries throughout the country. The latest RTECS editions may also be examined at the OSHA Technical Data Center, Room N2439—Rear. United States Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210 (202-523-9700), or at any OSHA Regional or Area Office (See, major city telephone directories under United States Government-Labor Department). 

Delaware Dept, of Labor, Department of OSHA Consultation 4425 N. Market Street, 3rd Floor Wilmington DE 19802... 

OSHA-funded free consultation services. Consult your telephone directory for the number of your local OSHA area or regional office for further assistance and advice (listed under U.S Labor Department or under the state government section where states administer their own OSHA programs). 

Occupational health and safety laws vary by country, state, and province. The following summaries (US Labor Department, 1999) introduce the laws in the US, Canada, and Mexico. 

The very forceful penalties prescribed for violation of the Mine Act did not, for the most part, originate with that law in 1977. Rather, they were introduced under a predecessor statute, the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. A large portion of the Labor Department s existing Mine Act interpretations grew out of the 1969 Coal Act. That Act was enforced by the United States Department of the Interior, and specifically by the Bureau of Mines (later the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration [MESA]) within the Interior Department. 

Heavy fines and jail sentences have been imposed for failme to file an identity report. Unidentified mines are considered outlaws and are subject to the most severe type of enforcement. If need be, the Labor Department can seek an injunction, and obtain the assistance of federal marshals to gain entry to a mine that is trying to keep agency officials away. MSHA may also seek daily civil penalties from the operator for every day that the operator persists in refusing admittance. 

Inflation is frequently measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) published periodically by the Labor Department. The CPI indicates the increase in cost of a set of products over a fixed period of time. The commercial interest rate charged by banks is regulated by the U. S. Federal Reserve as a means of controlling inflation. A decrease in this controlled interest rate moves investments toward stocks, while an increase moves investments toward bonds. 

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