U.S. Department of Labor Announces $2.5 Million in Disaster Recovery Funding for Texas in Response to Hurricane Laura

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant for $2,500,000 awarded to the Texas Workforce Commission, in response to Hurricane Laura. 

Hurricane Laura made landfall in southwest Louisiana as a Category 4 storm on Aug. 27, 2020, continuing inland as a tropical storm and inflicting significant damage in neighboring Texas counties. This grant funding will create disaster-relief jobs to address debris cleanup and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those affected by the storm. The project will initially focus efforts in Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Orange, Sabine and Tyler counties. As damage assessments are completed, work may expand to any of the 59 Texas counties included in the associated emergency declaration issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in advance of the storm. 

supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, National Dislocated Worker Grants temporarily expand the service capacity of dislocated worker training and employment programs at the state and local levels by providing funding assistance in response to large, unexpected economic events that cause significant job losses.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.