USDOL Funds will Assist Employers Impacted by Flooding

Release Date: 8/9/2019

Grants Will Fund Temporary Infrastructure Repair Jobs

LINCOLN – The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) is now accepting grant applications from local workforce development areas needing to repair damage to public infrastructure resulting from the spring flooding. NDOL has received $2 million in Disaster Recovery Employment Program (DREP) funding from the US Department of Labor, which will be awarded through local workforce development areas to employers to create temporary jobs and receive 100% wage reimbursement for those jobs. Individuals who lost employment due to the flooding or who have experienced long-term unemployment (greater than 13 weeks of consecutive unemployment) are eligible to fill these positions.  Supportive services will be available to employers and job seekers who are eligible; these include tools, equipment and any necessary items to obtain and maintain employment.  The funding application deadline for the local workforce development areas is September 6, 2019.

“Nebraskans are still recovering from the blizzards and floods that engulfed our state this spring,” said Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts. “This grant provides training and employment services to Nebraskans whose livelihoods have been disrupted by the storms. It will help them resume work, and it will enable more Nebraskans to bounce back from the disaster stronger than ever.”

“We encourage employers to contact the Nebraska Department of Labor job center in their area if they are interested in this program,” said Commissioner of Labor John H. Albin.

Record-setting water levels caused significant losses to highways, roads, and bridges. The state received a major disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on March 21, 2019, which allows the state to request Dislocated Worker Grant funding to assess workforce needs in 76 counties declared eligible for FEMA’s Public Assistance Program.  These counties, as served by local workforce development areas, are as follows:

1.       Lancaster and Saunders, which are served by the Greater Lincoln Workforce Development Area  Contact: Travis Beck 402-471-2278, travis.beck@nebraska.gov

2.       Douglas, Sarpy, and Washington, which are served by the Greater Omaha Workforce Development Area  Contact: Lex Ann Roach 402-934-2392, lexann.roach@nebraska.gov

3.       Adams, Antelope, Banner, Blaine, Boone, Box Butte, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Burt, Butler, Cass, Cedar, Cheyenne, Clay, Colfax, Cuming, Custer, Dakota, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Dixon, Dodge, Fillmore, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gage, Garden, Garfield, Gosper, Greeley, Hall, Harlan, Holt, Howard, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, Keya Paha, Kimball, Knox, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, Madison, Merrick, Morrill, Nance, Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Richardson, Rock, Saline, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Stanton, Thurston, Valley, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, and York, which are served by the Greater Nebraska Workforce Development Area.   Contact: Kelsey Miller 308-535-8340, kelsey.miller@nebraska.gov

Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, 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. 

Full details on the grant funding and application instructions can be found at dol.nebraska.gov.

Individuals seeking employment for any reason may reach out to NDOL job centers.  A list of job centers can be found here:  https://dol.nebraska.gov/Home/AboutUs