US Department of Labor awards $5M in funding

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced funding of $5 million to support disaster-relief employment and training for individuals to assist with clean up and recovery activities after Hurricane Ida made landfall in southern Louisiana as a Category 4 storm on Aug. 29.

Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, the funding is the first increment of a National Dislocated Worker Grant of up to of $10 million for the Louisiana Workforce Commission to provide temporary employment for individuals focusing on debris clean up and delivery of humanitarian assistance to eligible individuals statewide.

On Aug. 27 and Aug. 29, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued disaster declarations which allowed Louisiana to request federal assistance for recovery efforts in all parishes.

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