Labor Department News Releases Update

In the week ending April 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 304,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 300,000 to 302,000.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs today announced a final rule adopting standards for administering and interpreting digital radiographs for the Federal Black Lung Program. The new rule will enable physicians who perform diagnostic testing of miner-claimants to use more modern medical technology to conduct a complete pulmonary evaluation. The rule allows film and digital chest X-rays to be given equal importance in claims adjudication.