The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared COVID-19 a nationwide public health emergency on January 27, 2020, enabling eligible applicants to request funding for Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs). The President also declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020. Economic Recovery DWGs are also available to states and other eligible applicants that are affected by major economic dislocations, such as mass layoffs. The National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance transmitted by Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 12-19 explains how eligible applicants can apply for DWGs, including emergency funding requests. The U.S. Department of Labor accepts applications on a rolling basis, which are then reviewed in the order received.
The approved emergency applications collectively include disaster-relief cleanup and humanitarian assistance activities for those communities the applicants identified as significantly impacted, along with employment and training activities for grant participants. Based on the current availability of federal funds, as well as the anticipated large volume of funding requests from across the nation, the Department approved reduced initial funding amounts to address the critical community needs in areas hardest impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency. The amount initially provided is the lesser of 33% of the grant amount requested or a set initial award amount correlated to a severity rating. The rating is based on the following data points: COVID-19 cases per 10,000 people (reported daily by the CDC), unemployment insurance initial claims data (reported weekly by the Department), and population data (provided in the July 2019 Census estimate).
Grantees must submit a full budget and implementation plan to the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) within 60 days of the initial award. Additional time and the continued evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 on a project’s proposed service area may lead to further revisions to project size and scope. Should grantees require additional resources beyond the initial award, they may incorporate a request for additional funding in the submission of the full budget and plan. ETA will review their expenditure levels and performance outcomes prior to the recommendation of any additional funding.
| Recipient | Award | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon Department of Education | $3,000,000 |
| 2 | Government of Guam – Department of Administration | $1,500,000 |
| 3 | Florida Department of Economic Opportunity | $12,000,000 |
| 4 | Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) DOL – Workforce Investment Agency Division | $1,500,000 |
| 5 | Job Service North Dakota | $509,615 |
| 6 | Republic of Palau | $102,306 |
| 7 | Colorado Department of Labor and Employment | $4,995,000 |
| 8 | Texas Workforce Commission | $12,000,000 |
| 9 | Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training | $2,326,005 |
| 10 | Mississippi Department of Employment Security | $3,000,000 |
| 11 | Virginia Community College System | $3,330,000 |
| 12 | Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity | $8,325,000 |
| 13 | Alabama Department of Commerce | $1,998,000 |
| 14 | South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation* | $281,968 |
| 15 | New York State Department of Labor | $12,000,000 |
| 16 | North Carolina Department of Commerce – Division of Workforce Solutions | $6,000,000 |
| 17 | Indiana Department of Workforce Development | $1,665,000 |
| 18 | Colorado Department of Labor and Employment* | $4,995,000 |
| 19 | Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development | $6,993,000 |
| 20 | California Department of Employment Development* | $11,655,000 |
| 21 | California Department of Employment Development | $12,000,000 |
| 22 | District of Columbia Department of Employment Services | $1,245,969 |
| 23 | State of Wyoming Department of Workforce Services* | $200,000 |
| 24 | Technical College System of Georgia | $12,000,000 |
| 25 | Kentucky Office of Employment and Training | $6,000,000 |
| 26 | Maryland Department of Labor | $1,665,000 |
| 27 | Connecticut Department of Labor | $2,331,000 |
| 28 | Louisiana Workforce Commission | $6,000,000 |
| 29 | Washington State Department of Employment Security | $12,000,000 |
| 30 | Oregon Department of Education* | $3,000,000 |
| 31 | Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development | $999,000 |
| 32 | Arizona Department of Economic Security | $1,332,000 |
| 33 | Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation | $4,508,311 |
| 34 | Idaho Department of Labor | $2,722,281 |
| 35 | Oklahoma Department of Commerce | $999,000 |
| 36 | Virgin Islands Department of Labor | $1,500,000 |
| 37 | South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce | $459,540 |
| 38 | New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions | $3,000,000 |
| 39 | Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development | $1,332,000 |
| 40 | Upper Shore (Maryland) Workforce Investment Board* | $356,909 |
| 41 | Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development | $6,000,000 |
| 42 | Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations | $1,500,000 |
| 43 | Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity* | $8,325,000 |
| 44 | Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations* | $1,500,000 |
| 45 | Montana Department of Labor and Industry* | $582,750 |
| 46 | New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development | $8,487,304 |
| 47 | Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry | $6,993,000 |
| 48 | Maine Department of Labor | $1,500,000 |
| 49 | Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity | $3,330,000 |
| 50 | Washington State Department of Employment Security* | $12,000,000 |
| 51 | Iowa Workforce Development* | $5,000,000 |
| 52 | Ohio Department of Job and Family Services* | $25,560,000 |
| 53 | Indiana Department of Workforce Development* | $20,000,000 |
| Awarded Funds | $272,604,958 | |
*Denotes application for Employment Recovery DWG.
News Releases
- U.S. Department of Labor Awards Over $26 Million in Dislocated Worker Grants in Response to Coronavirus Public Health Emergency (May 15, 2020)
- U.S. Department of Labor Awards Over $10 Million in Dislocated Worker Grants in Response to the Coronavirus Public Health Emergency (May 6, 2020)
- U.S. Department of Labor Provides Additional Flexibility for Dislocated Worker Grants, Allowing Awardees to Use Funds for Contact Tracing (May 5, 2020)
- U.S. Department of Labor Awards Over $30 Million in Dislocated Worker Grants in Response to the Coronavirus Public Health Emergency (April 29, 2020)
- U.S. Department of Labor Awards More than $131 Million in Dislocated Worker Grants in Response to Coronavirus Public Health Emergency (April 15, 2020)
- U.S. Department of Labor Announces Availability of Up to $100 Million In National Health Emergency Dislocated Worker Grants in Response to COVID-19 Outbreak (March 18, 2020)