Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, DOL NEWS—Agency announces actions supporting worker success, safety, (Apr 8, 2025)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

The efforts include a $2M grant to former Boeing workers displaced by layoffs.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer has embarked on her nationwide America at Work listening tour with a roundtable in Pennsylvania, according to a press release from the Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL also announced a $2 million grant awarded to the State of Washington to support workers affected by Boeing Company layoffs, as well as the release of Weeks Island Mine and Mill from its pattern of violations (POV) designation after demonstrated improvement in safety and compliance.

America at Work listening tour. Chavez-DeRemer kicked off her nationwide America at Work listening tour on April 5, 2025, with a roundtable and tour of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 163 Joint Apprenticeship Training Center. Chavez-DeRemer and U.S. Representative Rob Bresnahan, Jr. met with a group of union leaders, local elected officials, and union members from Northeastern Pennsylvania to discuss supporting apprenticeships to develop a skilled workforce, improving infrastructure to attract businesses, investing in service members as they transition back home to their communities, and other ways to enhance the workforce. Throughout her tour, Chavez-DeRemer will continue to meet with workers, union members, employers, and community leaders to inform the shaping and modernization of federal labor policies and practices.

According to a press release from Chavez-DeRemer, key priorities for the listening tour include:

• fostering partnerships between businesses, unions, and educators to create a stronger workforce pipeline;

• strengthening pathways to good-paying, sustainable jobs across U.S. industries;

• identifying ways to improve workforce development and enhance economic prosperity;

• promoting skills training, apprenticeships, and career education that meet modern workforce needs;

• cutting the red tape stifling innovation or job growth while protecting workers’ rights;

• supporting federal labor policies that empower both workers and job creators;

• championing American-made jobs and the industries that drive them; and

• highlighting best practices from successful communities.

Grant award following Boeing layoffs. The DOL awarded a $2 million National Dislocated Worker Grant to the State of Washington to help workers dislocated by companywide reductions by Boeing. Administered by the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration, the grant will allow Washington to provide job search assistance, as well as follow-up services for workers affected by the layoffs. The award will also support individualized training and guidance to prepare workers for reentry into the workplace and to advance in high-quality jobs within growing industries.

Weeks Island Mine and Mill POV designation. The DOL has released Morton Salt Inc.’s Weeks Island Mine and Mill from its POV designation after the mine demonstrated significant and sustained improvements in safety and compliance. The mine worked closely with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to improve safety practices, reduce significant and substantial violations, and create a safe working environment for miners. In 2022, MSHA issued the mine its POV designation, which is assigned to a mine when the DOL finds it has a high number of significant and substantial violations and other safety and health compliance issues. Since then, the mine has implemented enhanced safety training, hazard mitigation measures, and stricter monitoring protocols, leading to measurable improvements in workplace conditions meeting the requirement for release from the POV designation. MSHA will continue to monitor the mine for compliance and provide support.

Companies: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 163; The Boeing Company.; Morton Salt Inc.

News: AgencyNews LaborNews Labor Safety