US Labor Department drops plan to fine employers who underpay injured dockworkers

The US Labor Department has withdrawn its plan to create new rules for fining employers who violate the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. This means the existing, less formal process for assessing and adjudicating penalties will remain in place.

The Labor Department was trying to make it easier to fine employers who don't pay injured dockworkers what they're owed. They wanted clear rules for how to assess and dispute these penalties. Now, that won't happen, and the current system, which is less transparent, will continue.