Biden-Harris administration makes initial award of $3.5 million to Maryland to support temporary clean-up, recovery jobs following Key Bridge tragedy

WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris administration today announced an initial award of $3.5 million in emergency dislocated worker grant funding to the state of Maryland to support cleanup and recovery activities after a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s support pylons on March 26, 2024, causing the bridge to collapse.

Workers whose jobs were impacted, due to no fault of their own, will have access to new training and may have their wages subsidized if they are engaged in post-disaster employment activities. 

“As President Biden has made clear, supporting the people who find themselves suddenly out of work after this disaster is an essential part of recovery efforts,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “Through this grant funding, we will prevent further, adverse ripple effects for workers and the surrounding community through training and other resources needed during this difficult time.”

Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, the National Dislocated Worker Grant of up to $25 million allows the Maryland Department of Labor to train and hire workers to aid in temporary cleanup and recovery efforts. The grant will also enable the state to provide those affected by the disaster with training and upskilling to prepare them for career advancement once businesses reopen. 

Maryland estimates that 270,000 direct, indirect, or induced jobs will be affected by collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and reduction of operations at the Port of Baltimore. The incident is expected to affect the city and 23 Maryland counties.

On March 29, 2024, the Small Business Administration issued the declaration of Economic Injury Disaster for the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse, allowing the state to request federal assistance for recovery efforts in Baltimore and the following counties: Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, St. Mary’s, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico and Worcester. 

National Dislocated Worker Grants are supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 to 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 lead to significant job losses.