|
 Printer-Friendly Version
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 219-6871
President Clinton and U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman today
announced a total amount of $1,000,000 in National Reserve Account (NRA) funds
will be used to create approximately 200 temporary jobs for individuals to
assist in the disaster relief activities in 34 counties in the State which have
been affected by the devastating wildfires. The Florida Department of Labor and
Employment Security will use the money to pay for temporary clean-up and
restoration jobs following the wildfires which started May 25 Workers who have
temporarily lost their jobs because of this disaster, the long-term unemployed
and other eligible dislocated workers can participate in the program.
"I want to express my concern for the people of Florida during this
difficult time," said President Clinton, who visited an affected area today. "I
also want to thank all of the men and women who came from fire stations around
the nation to help their colleagues in Florida. I hope that this assistance
will allow workers to return to their jobs as soon as possible, and help
communities affected by the fires achieve a speedy recovery."
"It is my hope that this emergency grant will help workers and their
families get their lives back to normal," said Herman. "These kinds of fires
are devastating. Fortunately no lives were lost, but people have lost homes and
jobs. Material things and jobs can be replaced. This emergency grant can help
those affected begin to rebuild."
The Department of Labor approved up to $600,000 of new emergency
funding to assist workers who temporarily lost their jobs because of the
wildfires that have affected five counties in Central Florida. An initial
amount of $200,000 is being awarded for immediate use. These new funds
supplement $400,000 remaining from a grant awarded to the State to create
temporary jobs for the disaster-related clean up and restoration following the
severe weather and flooding resulting from the El ¥ino storms earlier this
year. The fires, which began on May 25, have burned more than 200,000 acres to
date, as reported by the State's Division of Forestry and reports obtained from
the affected counties. An estimated 700 individuals have been dislocated as a
result of the wildfires. Individuals eligible to participate in the project
will be those who have lost their jobs as a result of the disaster, the
long-term unemployed and other eligible dislocated workers.
The grant is authorized under emergency provisions of Title III of the
Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to fund special temporary jobs to benefit
the public and help dislocated workers resume regular employment. The program
will assist workers in counties declared eligible for Public Assistance by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). If FEMA declares additional
counties, they can be included in the project. Participants will work for up to
six months with public or private non-profit agencies to help with clean-up,
repair and restoration efforts.
The dislocated worker program is a comprehensive retraining approach to
assist workers who have been, or are about to be, laid off for reasons such as
technological change, foreign competition or government actions. Generally such
workers are eligible if they are unlikely to return to their previous industry
or occupation.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
| 
