State to Help Employers and Their Workers Recover from Hurricane Irene

Editor's Note: The following is a news release that was issued by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

In response to the hardships imposed on thousands of New Jersey residents by Hurricane Irene, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development can provide assistance to help struggling businesses and displaced workers recover from the disaster through an array of available services.

“Hurricane Irene impacted business centers, communities and families that were already hard hit by the recession. People need to know that the resources Governor Christie has put in place to rebuild our economy are also there to help workers and businesses recover from this natural disaster,” said Harold J. Wirths, Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

A summary of these services include:

• Grant awards for businesses to assist with on-the-job training costs for new workers hired initially to assist in disaster-related activities such as landscaping and tree removal, construction, insurance claims, building supplies sales, materials transport, utility work, call and claims centers staffing, and infrastructure clearing and repair.
• Availability of the Business Resource Centers, conveniently co-located inside local One-Stop Career Centers across the state, as temporary hubs for businesses to access telephone and internet services as well as for job seekers and displaced workers seeking workforce development and unemployment assistance.
• Federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA). Funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the assistance is being administered by the LWD. Most people left unemployed by Hurricane Irene should file for regular unemployment benefits, but the DUA is available for people who temporarily lost jobs because of the disaster and who do not qualify for regular unemployment benefits, such as self-employed people.
• Dispatch of Rapid Response team members to identified Disaster Recovery Centers to assist displaced workers.
• Availability of services through New Jersey Youth Corps to assist non-profit, public and governmental entities in a variety of ways for disaster relief and clean-up.  There are 6 New Jersey Youth Corps sites throughout the State that have equipment and Corps members trained and ready to respond to requests for brush clearing, tree removal, food distribution, assistance at shelters, and other related activities.
• Community Work Experience Participants (CWEPs) are available to assist non-profit, public and governmental entities in a variety of ways for disaster relief and clean-up. 
• The Entrepreneurial Training Program for the Unemployed (ETPU) provides unemployed workers the option of pursuing self-employment while supported by up to 26 weeks of benefits.

A more complete list, with program details and contact information, may be found by visiting: http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/wnjpin/content/HurricanIreneRecovery.html.

The information also may be found by clicking the “Hurricane Irene” button on the LWD homepage at http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/.