TEGL 09-24 Change 1.pdf

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION

ADVISORY SYSTEM

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Washington, D.C. 20210

CLASSIFICATION

WIOA - DWG

CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL

OWI

DATE

May 7, 2026

RESCISSIONS

None

EXPIRATION DATE

Continuing

ADVISORY: TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 09-24

Change 1

TO: STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

STATE WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATORS

STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS

STATE AND LOCAL WORKFORCE BOARD CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS

LABOR COMMISSIONERS

AMERICAN JOB CENTERS

WIOA SECTION 166(c) INDIAN AND NATIVE AMERICAN PROGRAM

GRANTEES

RAPID RESPONSE COORDINATORS

FROM: HENRY MACK, ED.D.

Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT: Change 1 to Training and Employment Guidance Letter Number 09-24, Updated

National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance and Application Information

1. Purpose. To inform the state and local workforce development system of changes to the policies and priorities that govern the award and use of Disaster Recovery National

Dislocated Worker Grant (DWG) funds, pursuant to the Workforce Innovation and

Opportunity Act (WIOA), Title I, Section 170.

2. Action Requested. Please share with all staff who administer DWGs. The workforce development system, all DWG recipients, and eligible applicants should review and update applicable policies and procedures to comply with this Training and Employment Guidance

Letter (TEGL).

3. Summary and Background.

a. Summary – This Change 1 to TEGL Number (No.) 9-24 includes updates to requirements for Disaster Recovery DWGs in response to the opioid crisis1 as well as revisions to reflect current policies and priorities for the overall DWG program. In

December 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) published TEGL No. 09-24 Updated

National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance and Application Information, which described the policies and priority of the program at that time.

1 As defined by the Department of Health and Human Services, “opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, morphine, and many others.” See https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/prevention/index.html.

https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/prevention/index.html

For Disaster Recovery DWGs responding to the opioid crisis,2 key updates in this

TEGL No. 09-24, Change 1 include:

i. Funding approach – For Disaster Recovery DWGs in response to the opioid crisis, DOL will prioritize awards to applicants with a demonstrated need for the funding that have not previously been awarded an opioid-related DWG, and to those that do not have an active opioid-related DWG at the time of proposed start date. DOL will only consider one Opioid DWG per eligible applicant at any one time, with the state determining the appropriate service area within the state. Applicants must demonstrate, with sourced data, the severity of the impacts (e.g., rates of death related to opioid use, rates of non-fatal hospitalizations related to opioid abuse, number of children affected due to parental/primary caregiver substance abuse/misuse, etc.) of the opioid crisis in the proposed service area. Note that DOL will only accept these applications during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year (July 1–September 30) to ensure that funds remain available for natural disaster recovery and employment recovery DWGs throughout the year. (Attachment I, pages I-17 and I-25).

ii. Disaster-Relief Employment – DOL will consider applications for opioid-disaster DWGs without the inclusion of Disaster-Relief Employment as a service strategy. (Attachment I, page I-6).

iii. Updated Application Requirements – Among other updates, applicants must demonstrate ongoing state efforts to use workforce resources to address the opioid crisis and that available workforce resources are inadequate to meet demand for services to respond to the opioid crisis, and describe plans to sustain activities carried out after the grant period of performance (Attachment

I, page I-20).

iv. Employment and Training - DOL encourages applications that emphasize employment and training participant services focused on increasing the number of qualified professionals in fields mitigating the opioid crisis. DOL includes law enforcement and first responders among these professions

(Attachment I, page I-6).

Other key updates in this Change 1 include:

o Qualifying Events for Disaster Recovery DWGs – Updated to clarify that for emergencies or disasters involving a Federal Emergency Management Agency

(FEMA) declaration, FEMA must designate the event is eligible for public assistance in order to qualify for a DWG (Attachment I, page I-2).

o Eligible Applicants for Disaster Recovery DWGs – Updated to clarify that the term “state workforce agencies” refers to state workforce agencies administering

WIOA formula funds (Attachment I, page I-3).

o Participant Eligibility and Documentation – Updated requirements for self-attestation policies and the collection of all documentation needed to demonstrate participant eligibility (Attachment I, pages I-4 and I-13).

2 The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a Public Health

Emergency on October 26, 2017, and this declaration has been renewed every 90 days. At time of this writing, the most recent renewal was signed on March 16, 2026. https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/Opioids-Renewal-

15Dec2025.aspx https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/Opioid-Renewal-16Mar2026.aspx https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/Opioid-Renewal-16Mar2026.aspx o Disaster-Relief Employment – Updated wage requirements to remove the $15 hourly wage rate minimum in the absence of an industry standard (Attachment I, page I-8).

o Administrative Costs Limitation – Updated total administrative costs to 10 percent of the total grant award, with rare exceptions (Attachment I, page I-31).

o Performance Measures – Updated required performance goals to remove

Measurable Skills Gains (Attachment I, Page 1-32).

b. Background – DWGs are discretionary grants awarded by the Secretary of Labor under

Section 170 of WIOA to provide employment-related services for dislocated workers and other eligible individuals.

DWGs provide supplemental funding in response to major economic dislocations or other events that cause or contribute to a shortage of existing WIOA Dislocated Worker formula funds and other relevant resources in states and local areas, creating challenges in their ability to provide workforce services to eligible participants. DWGs enable states and communities to respond to and recover from large, often unexpected dislocation events and their associated impacts.

The WIOA statute allows DOL to fund two types of DWGs: Disaster Recovery and

Employment Recovery. Disaster Recovery DWGs provide funding to create temporary employment opportunities to assist with clean-up and recovery efforts when an area impacted by an emergency or major disaster is declared eligible for public assistance by the FEMA or is declared or recognized as an emergency or disaster of national significance by a Federal agency with authority or jurisdiction over Federal response to the disaster or emergency, including public health emergencies. Employment Recovery

DWGs expand capacity to serve dislocated workers and to meet the increased demand for employment and training services following a qualifying dislocation event such as a mass layoff, plant closure, or higher-than-average demand for employment and training activities for dislocated members of the Armed Forces and their spouses. While the two

DWG types serve different purposes, both play an important role in helping communities, individuals, and businesses recover from large-scale economic events.

DWGs in response to the opioid crisis are a specific type of Disaster Recovery DWG, where the qualifying event is a declaration by the Department of Health and Human

Services (HHS) designating the opioid crisis as a Public Health Emergency.3

4. DWG Program Guidance. See Attachment I, National Dislocated Worker Grant Program

Guidance and Application Information, for a full discussion of NDWGs’ purpose, policies, priorities, and requirements. See Attachment II, Policy Explanations and Examples to

Support DWG Program Guidance, for additional supporting information.

5. Paperwork Reduction Act Statement. Applicants for DWGs must submit an application, as described in Attachment I. The OMB Information Collection Number for that application, 3 Health and Human Services Declaration of Opioid Public Health Emergency renewed March 2026 https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/Opioid-Renewal-16Mar2026.aspx.

1225-0086, expires June 30, 2028. The current approval and subsequent approvals for this information collection are tracked in https://www.reginfo.gov/publi c/do/PRAMain.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 20 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

This information is being collected for the purpose of awarding a grant and is required to be considered for a DWG. DOL will use the information collected through this solicitation to ensure that grants are awarded to the applicants best suited to perform the functions of the grant.

6. Inquiries. Direct questions regarding this guidance to the appropriate ETA regional office.

7. References.

• TEGL No. 09-24, Updated National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance and

Application Information, issued December 17, 2024, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/tegl-09-24;

• Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) (Pub. L. 113-128) (July 22, 2014);

• Employment and Training Administration, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act;

Final Rule (WIOA DOL Final Rule) published at 81 FR 56071 (August 19, 2016), specifically 20 C.F.R. parts 680 and 687;

• TEGL No. 23-19 Change 3, Guidance for Validating Required Performance Data

Submitted by Grant Recipients of U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Workforce Programs, issued December 1, 2025, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/tegl-23-19-change-

3;

• TEGL 5-25, Maximizing Innovation in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

Programs, issued November 25, 2025, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/tegl-

05-25;

• TEGL No. 14-18, Aligning Performance Accountability Reporting, Definitions, and

Policies across Workforce Employment and Training Programs Administered by the U.S.

Department of Labor (DOL), issued March 25, 2019, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-

14-18;

• TEGL No. 8-18, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I and Wagner-

Peyser Act Waiver Requirements and Request Process, issued December 19, 2018, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-

08-18;

• TEGL No. 19-16, Guidance on Services Provided through the Adult and Dislocated

Worker Programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the

Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service (ES), as amended by title III of WIOA, and for

Implementation of the WIOA Final Rules, issued March 1, 2017, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-

19-16;

https://www.reginfo.gov/publi%20c/do/PRAMain https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/tegl-09-24 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2016-08-19/pdf/2016-15975.pdf#page=387 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/tegl-23-19-change-3 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/tegl-23-19-change-3 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/tegl-05-25 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/tegl-05-25 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-14-18 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-14-18 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-08-18 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-08-18 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-19-16

• TEGL No. 17-16, Infrastructure Funding of the One-Stop Delivery System, issued January

18, 2017, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-17-16;

• TEGL No. 16-16, One-Stop Operations Guidance for the American Job Center Network, issued January 18, 2017, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-16-16;

• TEGL No. 16-16, Change 1, Change 1 to Training and Employment Guidance Letter

(TEGL) 16-16 One-Stop Operations Guidance for the American Job Center Network, issued June 16, 2017, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-16-16-change-1;

• TEGL No. 28-10, Federal Financial Management and Reporting Definitions, issued May

27, 2011, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-28-10;

• TEGL No. 10-09, Implementing Priority of Service for Veterans and Eligible Spouses in

All Qualified Job Training Programs Funded in Whole or in Part by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), issued November 10, 2009, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-

10-09;

• TEN No. 19-24, Announcing the Disaster Lifecycle from Preparedness through

Resiliency: A Guide for State Workforce Agencies, issued January 17, 2025, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/ten-19-24; and

• Information Collection Forms and Participant Individual Record Layouts: Workforce

Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Common Performance Reporting - ETA 9169

9170 (OMB Control No. 1205-0526) and DOL-only Performance Accountability, Information, and Reporting System - 9172, 9173 (OMB Control No. 1205-0521) and ETA

Form 9130 (OMB).

8. Attachments.

• Attachment I – National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance and Application

Information

• Attachment II - Policy Explanations and Examples to Support DWG Program Guidance https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-17-16 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-17-16 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-16-16 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-16-16 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-16-16-change-1 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-16-16-change-1 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-28-10 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-28-10 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-10-09 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-10-09 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/ten-19-24

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Attachment I

National Dislocated Worker Grant Program

Guidance and Application Information

Contents

Attachment I: National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance and Application

Information Purpose of this Program Guidance Part 1: National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Policies Section 1.A: Types of DWGs

Disaster Recovery DWGs Employment Recovery DWGs

Part 2: DWG Applications Section 2.A: Application Information and Requirements Section 2.B: Grant Awards Part 3: Grant Funding Approach Section 3.A: Grant Awards Funded in Full Section 3.B: Grant Awards Funded Incrementally Section 3.C: Additional Funding Section 3.D: Emergency Applications Section 3.E: Other DWG Funding Criteria Part 4: Administrative Policies Part 5: Post-Award Requirements and Information Section 5.A: Participant Enrollment and Grant Performance Section 5.B: Post-Award Information Attachment II: Policy Explanations and Examples to Support DWG Program Guidance Section 1: Participant Eligibility, Disaster Recovery DWGs Section 2: Other DWG Program Clarifications Section 3: Understanding the Difference Between Allowable and Unallowable Disaster-Relief

Employment Section 4: Information for Tribal and Native Applicants and Grant Recipients Section 5: DWGs and the Continuum of Resources for Affected Individuals Under Different

Scenarios

Purpose of this Program Guidance This program guidance outlines the framework for the National Dislocated Worker Grant

(DWG) Program, detailing its purpose, policies, priorities, and requirements. Additionally, the guidance includes various examples (see Attachment II) to clarify specific policies, requirements, and expectations.

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Part 1: National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Policies

Section 1.A: Types of DWGs

Disaster Recovery DWGs

Description

Disaster Recovery DWGs provide temporary disaster-relief employment, as well as employment and training activities, as appropriate, in response to applicable emergency or disaster declarations as defined in 20 CFR 687.110(b), including public health emergencies. Disaster

Recovery DWGs help address employment and economic recovery from the impact of disasters and emergencies in disaster-declared areas.

Disaster Recovery DWGs help communities address and recover from the impacts of a disaster or emergency including public health emergencies, and to help develop a workforce better equipped for resilience to disaster events in the future. The Employment and Training

Administration (ETA) expects that the State Workforce Agency (or DWG grant recipient or subrecipient) actively participates to better coordinate with existing or developing emergency response efforts. ETA will also use this information to facilitate any necessary communication with FEMA. ETA encourages states and other entities eligible to apply for Disaster Recovery

DWGs to maintain readiness and play a role in disaster preparedness by actively:

• Supporting and participating in disaster preparedness planning activities carried out by state emergency management agencies or others; and

• Planning for the types of disaster-relief employment positions that have identified pathways to unsubsidized employment. (Note that such positions must abide by employment laws and certain standards described below).

Qualifying Events

The following events are eligible for Disaster Recovery DWGs:

1. Emergencies and major disasters, as defined under Section 102 of the Stafford Act (42

U.S.C. 5122), declared by FEMA as eligible for Public Assistance.

2. Emergencies or disaster situations of national significance, natural or man-made, that could result in a potentially large loss of employment, as declared or otherwise recognized and issued in writing by the chief official of a Federal agency with jurisdiction over the Federal response to the disaster or emergency. Federal agency declarations might be made by the Department of Health and Human Services, the

Environmental Protection Agency, the Small Business Administration, Economic

Development Administration, or others. In some cases, these declarations, such as the public health emergency declarations for COVID-19 or the opioid epidemic, established a new qualifying event that remains in effect until the qualifying declaration is rescinded or expires.

Not every Federal emergency or disaster declaration will automatically meet the standard for “national significance” as required by WIOA. Applicants requesting a Disaster

Recovery DWG for an emergency or disaster of national significance must demonstrate that a potentially large loss of employment could result from a disaster or emergency.

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ETA defines “potentially large” in this context as the potential loss of at least 50 jobs within the disaster area covered by the relevant declaration within the jurisdiction of the applicant.

3. Relocation of a substantial number of individuals from a state, tribal area, or outlying area affected by a disaster or emergency to other states, tribal areas, or outlying areas outside the disaster or emergency area.

ETA will determine whether a relocation is “substantial” based on the information provided in the DWG application.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants for Disaster Recovery DWGs include the state workforce agencies administering WIOA formula funds, outlying areas, or Indian tribal government as defined by the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. 5122(6).

Eligible Participants

The following individuals are eligible to receive services provided through a Disaster Recovery

DWG, per 20 CFR 687.170(b):

1. Individuals temporarily or permanently laid off as a consequence of the emergency or disaster;4

2. Dislocated workers as defined in WIOA Section 3(15), including displaced homemakers as defined in WIOA Section 3(16); see TEGL 19-16 for more specific information on the flexibilities that WIOA provides to Governors concerning establishing procedures for interpreting and applying the definition of dislocated worker to individuals;

3. Long-term unemployed individuals,5 as defined by the state workforce agency or other eligible entity; or

4. Self-employed individuals who became unemployed or significantly underemployed as a result of the emergency or disaster.

Note that the statute and its regulations do not restrict enrollment in a Disaster Recovery DWG to individuals impacted by the qualifying event. Grant recipients can enroll individuals who meet the definition of “dislocated worker” in WIOA, and long-term unemployed individuals as defined by the grant recipient, even if the dislocation or the unemployment is not a result of the qualifying event. For opioid-related Disaster Recovery DWGs, participant eligibility does not require that an individual be personally impacted by opioid addiction.

4 This eligibility category provides grant recipients flexibility to identify and enroll participants in a Disaster

Recovery DWG, as it contains several terms that grant recipients can apply to best fit the disaster situation. See

Attachment II for additional information.

5 This definition of a long-term unemployed individual is unique to the DWG program. Unlike other WIOA Title I

Programs, the DWG program does not require any specific determination of number of weeks unemployed or other factors to qualify as “long-term unemployed.” ETA recommends that state workforce agencies and other entities eligible to apply for Disaster Recovery DWGs develop a definition for long-term unemployed individuals that is most appropriate to best carry out the Disaster Recovery DWG activities. See Attachment II for additional

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When determining participant eligibility, grant recipients must develop and follow written policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures should address terms such as “laid off as a consequence of the emergency or disaster,” long-term unemployed, and significantly underemployed. See Attachment II for additional information and examples related to the

Disaster Recovery DWG participant eligibility categories.

Grant recipient policies should include a protocol for verifying participant eligibility and for collecting and validating participant data in alignment with Section 4 of TEGL No. 23-19, Change 3, which removed self-attestation as an acceptable form of source documentation for one participant eligibility-related data element, date of birth. While self-attestation may be used as source documentation for some required participant eligibility data elements,6 grantees are encouraged to use other forms of source documentation whenever possible. DWG grant recipients must retain documentation of self-attestations provided by participants.

Allowable Grant Activities

Disaster-Relief Employment. Disaster Recovery DWGs provide funding for the creation of disaster-relief employment, temporary employment of eligible individuals for the purposes described in WIOA Section 170(b)(1)(B) and (d), as well as 20 CFR 687.180(b) and (c).7

Applicants must demonstrate that any disaster-relief employment they intend to create under a

Disaster Recovery DWG will be designed to mitigate the humanitarian, physical, or economic impacts of the disaster, and that the proposed work aligns with the following categories:

1. Cleanup and recovery efforts including demolition, cleaning, repair, renovation and reconstruction of damaged and destroyed structures, facilities and lands located within the disaster area and in offshore areas related to the emergency or disaster; or

2. Employment related to the delivery of appropriate humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of the disaster or emergency; more information on humanitarian assistance is provided below.

Cleanup and Recovery. Cleanup and recovery include a broad set of activities that focus on demolition, cleaning, repair, renovation and reconstruction. Such activities may address damaged facilities, lands, or offshore areas, as appropriate, within the declared disaster area, developed in response to specific disaster events.

Cleanup and recovery activities’ design must address, mitigate, or otherwise limit the damage, or the health and safety impacts, of the current disaster. Repairs and reconstruction must be limited to facilities, lands, or offshore areas damaged as a consequence of a declared disaster event.

WIOA prohibits the use of these funds for new construction or other activities aimed at preventing the impacts of future disasters.

6 TEGL no. 23-19, Change 3 is the most recent data validation guidance as of the publication of this TEGL.

Attachment II of TEGL no. 23-19 Change 3 eliminates self-attestation for data element (DE) 200 Date of Birth.

Self-attestation is an allowable source document for DE 401- UC Eligible Status, DE 402 - Long-Term Unemployed at Program Entry, and DE 410 - Date of Actual Dislocation.

7 Disaster Recovery DWG participants shall be provided benefits and working conditions at the same level and to the same extent as other employees working a similar length of time and doing the same type of work (WIOA

Section 181(b)(5)).

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Humanitarian Assistance. Humanitarian assistance generally includes actions designed to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity in the aftermath of disasters. This assistance includes activities supporting projects that distribute food, clothing, shelter and other humanitarian assistance. The humanitarian assistance provided by disaster-relief employment participants must respond to the impacts or the needs resulting from the disaster situation named in the Federal declaration.

When using DWG-funded Disaster-Relief Employment to deliver or provide humanitarian assistance, grant recipients cannot use DWG funds to purchase the material goods for delivery to individuals impacted by the disaster.

Examples of humanitarian assistance in a public health emergency include providing support for addiction treatment services and serving as peer recovery navigators or in other peer-focused positions that support individuals struggling with opioid addiction or recovery from opioid addiction.

Due to the variable nature of emergencies and disasters, DOL will consider humanitarian assistance activities on a case-by-case basis; therefore, applicants should demonstrate that any proposed disaster-relief employment for humanitarian assistance thoroughly addresses the following:

1. How the proposed employment activities and duties will address specific humanitarian assistance needs created by the declared disaster,

2. How the disaster created the need for disaster-relief employment positions; and

3. How the proposed disaster-relief employment will help mitigate the effects of the declared disaster by addressing the humanitarian need.

For more information on application requirements, please review the Community Needs

Assessment in Section 2.A below. For examples of cleanup and humanitarian assistance activities, see Attachment II.

The provision of general humanitarian assistance that solely or primarily focuses on the prevention of or planning for future disaster events is not allowable under a Disaster Recovery

DWG. WIOA allows activities that provide prevention and planning for future events only if these activities are incidental to responding to the humanitarian assistance needs created by the current event.

Exception to the Disaster-Relief Employment Requirement. Generally, Disaster Recovery DWG projects must include disaster-relief employment in response to the Federally declared disaster event. As necessary, ETA may approve grants that offer employment and training activities only, and it will consider such an exception in the following situations:

1. For Disaster Recovery DWGs responding to non-Stafford Act disaster or emergency declarations, where the circumstances and nature of the disaster do not allow for cleanup or humanitarian temporary employment opportunities authorized by WIOA; or

2. For Disaster Recovery DWGs responding to declared disasters in other geographic areas due to an influx of individuals who have relocated to the recipients’ location. In these circumstances, the DWG may provide employment and training activities as the primary

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Exception to Disaster Relief Employment for Opioid Disaster Recovery DWGs: For Disaster

Recovery DWGs responding to the opioid crisis, DOL will consider applications whether they propose Disaster-Relief Employment or do not propose Disaster-Relief Employment. Applicants should only propose Disaster-Relief Employment if that is the most significant workforce need related to the opioid public health emergency and would be the most effective use of funds.

In alignment with 20 CFR 687.180, grant recipients must develop and follow policies to effectively carry out disaster-relief employment activities.

Employment and Training Activities. Disaster Recovery DWGs may provide employment and training activities to eligible participants following a qualifying disaster or emergency, per

WIOA Section 170(d)(1)(C). As noted above, DWG funds may provide employment and training activities regardless of an individual’s participation in disaster-relief employment.

As a general goal, employment and training activities should be designed to allow participants to obtain unsubsidized employment following the conclusion of grant-supported activities.

In alignment with both 20 CFR 687.180 and the Uniform Guidance, grant recipients must develop and follow policies to effectively carry out employment and training activities.

Opioid Disaster Recovery Employment and Training Emphasis: For Opioid Disaster Recovery

DWGs, DOL encourages applications that emphasize provision of employment and training participant services focused on increasing the number of qualified professionals in fields mitigating the opioid crisis. Professional fields may include addiction treatment and related services; pain therapy and pain management services that could reduce or prevent dependence on prescription painkillers; mental health care treatment services for disorders and issues that could lead to or exacerbate opioid abuse and addiction, law enforcement and first responders.

Participant Enrollment Options. While most Disaster Recovery DWG projects must include disaster-relief employment, not all participants in a Disaster Recovery DWG project must participate in disaster-relief employment. Grant recipients may enroll Disaster Recovery DWG participants in:

• Disaster-relief employment only;

• Employment and training activities only; or

• Both disaster-relief employment and employment and training activities.

Grant recipients should assess the specific needs of each participant, and consider the needs and priorities created by the declared emergency or disaster event, to determine the appropriate disaster recovery activity for participants: disaster-relief employment, employment and training activities, or both. These activities may occur concurrently, or one may occur before the other.

Participants receiving disaster-relief employment should also receive basic career services described in WIOA Section 134(c)(2)(A)(i)-(xi), such as initial assessment of skill level, labor exchange services, and provision of information and assistance to file for unemployment compensation.

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Supportive Services. Supportive services provide resources or payments necessary to enable individuals enrolled in WIOA Title 1 programs to participate in and achieve successful outcomes in WIOA-funded activities.

Under Disaster Recovery DWGs, supportive services may be utilized:

• To enable a participant to participate in disaster-relief employment, and to safely and effectively carry out the job for which they have been hired; or

• To enable a participant to engage in grant-funded employment and training activities or obtain unsubsidized employment.

Any supportive services provided must be consistent with WIOA, applicable DOL regulations and guidance, and grant recipient policies.8 DOL encourages grantees to engage with area programs and entities in the area that offer supportive services and refer participants to these services when available, prior to utilizing DWG funds for these services.

Other Allowable Activities. To enable successful grant activities and outcomes, support participants in achieving successful placement in unsubsidized employment, and better serve participants from impacted communities, Disaster Recovery DWGs may use grant funds to carry out additional activities. Attachment II includes examples of other allowable activities under a

Disaster Recovery DWG.

DOL encourages applicants to describe any of these or other activities as part of the Community

Needs Assessment or other parts of the application for Disaster Recovery DWG funds to help tell the story of the full scope of planned interventions.

General Policies: Disaster Recovery DWGs

Limit on Disaster-Relief Employment Duration. Participants in disaster-relief employment positions may be employed for a maximum of 12 months or 2,080 hours, whichever is longer.9

See Attachment II for information on how this disaster-relief employment limitation may apply in cases where there may be more than one Disaster Recovery DWG operating. Note that the limit on employment duration is determined by an individual participant’s hours worked, not by the start date of the grant, or the date of an award of a contract to a Disaster-Relief Employer.

Participant Wages. In accordance with WIOA Section 181(a)(1)(A), generally, grantees must compensate disaster-relief employment participants at the same rates, including periodic increases, shift differential, benefits, or overtime pay, as any employees who are similarly situated working in similar positions at the same employer and who have similar training, experience, and skills. In cases where the Disaster-Relief Employer does not have any other temporary employees working in similar positions with similar training, experience and skills as the grant participants, DOL interprets this section to require that the employer pay the DRE employees the same as the employer’s permanent employees who are working in similar

8 For more information on supportive services, see TEGL No. 19-16

(https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/training-and-employment-guidance-letter-no-19-16).

9 Grant recipients may request a grant amendment to extend the period of employment for existing participants for up to an additional 12 months. This amendment request must justify extending participants’ disaster-relief employment, as required by 20 CFR 687.180(b)(1).

I - 8 positions. Such rates must be in accordance with applicable laws but must not be less than the higher of the rate specified in Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.

206(a)(1)) or the applicable state or local minimum wage law. Where applicable, fringe benefits should be paid in accordance with the benefits that the Disaster-Relief Employer offers its own employees. See Section 2.A for more information on Disaster-Relief Employers.

In cases where the Disaster-Relief Employer does not have non-participant employees doing the same or similar work and with similar training, experience, and skills, grant recipients must ensure that the wages that they will pay to participants align with the industry standard for that type of work in the area where the work is to be performed, supported by documentation in the application.

Disaster-Relief Employment Locations. Generally, grant-funded disaster-relief employment must take place in the geographic area covered by the qualifying disaster declaration.

Grant recipients must give the highest priority to cleanup of the disaster areas’ most severely damaged public communities, facilities, and property, and to the cleanup and the provision of humanitarian assistance to economically impacted areas within the disaster area. Where possible, grant recipients should prioritize enrollment of eligible individuals most in need of economic support or workforce development services.

While Disaster Recovery DWG projects generally take place on public property, work may also occur on private property when the following conditions are met:

1. The work must be intended to remove health and safety hazards to the larger community, or to address or alleviate specific economic or employment-related impacts of the disaster, such as cleanup work needed for disaster-affected employers to resume or continue operations;

2. The activities are necessary to remove health and safety hazards on private lands or around homes, businesses or other structures and may only return the land or structure(s) to a safe and habitable level, or operational status, and will not improve the original land or structure(s); and

3. Grant recipients must not use Disaster Recovery DWG funds to cover the cost of materials to do repairs.

Grant recipients must maintain documentation under the Disaster Recovery DWG for all worksites, including the dates and hours worked by each participant. For work on private property, grant recipients must document the rationale for determining the allowability of such work in accordance with this guidance. The Department does not require grant recipients to receive its approval to work on private property.

Preventing Future Disaster Impacts. Generally, DOL will not authorize disaster-relief employment for activities primarily designed to prevent or address the impacts of future disasters. Under WIOA Section 170(d)(1), DWG activities must be designed to mitigate the effects of the current declared disaster for which the grant was awarded; activities that may prevent future disasters or their impacts are permissible only where such activities are incidental to addressing the impacts of the current disaster or emergency. See Attachment II for a comparison of activities that may be allowable and those that may not.

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Coordination with Emergency Management Agencies. The grant recipient must coordinate the activities funded under a Disaster Recovery DWG with the appropriate organizations, including state emergency management agencies, to avoid duplication of efforts and to ensure that activities appropriately respond to the affected community’s needs after a disaster. The grant recipient must coordinate with any Federal agencies handling the Federal response to the disaster or emergency in the areas grant recipients are delivering services, either through direct contact or contact with state or local agencies coordinating with these Federal agencies. See Section 2.A below for required application to meet this requirement.

Health and Safety Standards. Grant recipients must establish written policies that require

Disaster-Relief Employers to provide participants the same health and safety standards established under Federal and state law applicable to working conditions of permanent employees. To the extent that state workers’ compensation law applies, Disaster-Relief Employers must provide workers’ compensation to participants on the same basis as individuals in similar employment, as required by WIOA Section 181(b)(4). In cases in which a participant is not covered under a state workers’ compensation law, based on the status of the Disaster-Relief

Employer with whom the participant is placed, the temporary nature of their employment, or another reason, the employer must provide the participant with appropriate on-site medical and accident insurance for work-related activities. The grant recipient must also ensure that participants receive appropriate safety training and ensure safe working conditions in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970.10

Incorporating Additional Disaster Events. Disaster Recovery DWG funds awarded to a grant recipient may be available for expenditure for additional declared disasters or situations of national significance that occur within the same program year the funds were initially awarded.

The addition of disaster events to an existing DWG project requires prior approval from the grant officer through a grant amendment request.

Requirements for Unemployment Insurance (UI) Coverage. While disaster relief employment serves an important role in stabilizing a community and dislocated workers during the aftermath of a disaster, the ultimate goal for all participants is entry into unsubsidized employment. To support this outcome, grantees must make efforts to develop direct pathways from disaster relief employment into unsubsidized employment. In rare instances where disaster relief participants do not enter employment, those temporary disaster-relief employment participants may qualify for unemployment benefits at the conclusion of their disaster relief employment. Unemployment

Compensation eligibility for disaster relief employment participants is based on state laws and the specific Disaster Relief Employer for whom they worked. State UI laws generally indicate which employers must pay relevant UI taxes, and grantees may use DWG funds to pay required

UI-related taxes for each Disaster Relief Employment participant, in accordance with State UI laws. Since not all employers are required to pay UI taxes depending on their business entity type, the state workforce agency should check with the state’s UI agency and the employer with which the grantee has established a DRE relationship regarding UI payroll tax requirements.

Grant recipients should contact their Federal Project Officer for questions on grant allocable costs related to Disaster Relief Employers’ UI taxes. Note that the grant may not be used to pay

10 For more information, contact the appropriate OSHA field office. A listing of OSHA field offices is available at https://www.osha.gov/contactus/bystate.

https://www.osha.gov/contactus/bystate

I - 10 penalties for failure to remit employer taxes or provide unemployment insurance coverage where required by law.

Employment Recovery DWGs

Description

Employment Recovery DWGs provide resources for eligible applicants that demonstrate the state, local area, or WIOA Section 166-eligible entities’ WIOA formula funds are insufficient to respond to major economic dislocations and their associated economic impacts. Major economic dislocations include plant closures and mass layoffs, closures and realignments of military installations, and other economic events that cause significant job losses.

Employment Recovery DWGs help support economic and employment-related recovery after mass layoffs or other instances of large-scale job loss and the associated employment impacts that these losses may generate. When such events occur, the economic and other impacts can be widespread and negatively affect workers, businesses, and communities, as well as the ability of the public workforce system to effectively serve dislocated workers. Employment Recovery

DWGs enable the delivery of critical career, training, and other resources to support reemployment efforts.

ETA requires projects funded with DWG resources to align with existing state, local, or tribal strategic priorities and focus on preparing dislocated workers and other eligible individuals for in-demand jobs with family-supporting wages.

WIOA considers DWGs part of a continuum of support for workers, businesses and communities that begins with early intervention or layoff aversion activities. The continuum of services also includes planning for large-scale layoffs and using resources from other WIOA programs and from federal, state, and local economic development agencies or from other agencies. This coordinated support mitigates the impacts of layoffs and unemployment caused by many factors, including, for example, mass layoffs, a series of related layoffs in a single industry, and other layoff situations. The American Job Center (AJC) Network provides regular assistance to people out of work, and these coordinated resources exist to support workers and job seekers under a variety of circumstances for rapid reemployment

Early intervention activities facilitate the gathering of demographic information and identification of the needs and interests of affected workers. Therefore, DOL expects DWG applications to reflect the results of early intervention processes and strategies. Assessments of participant demographics, current labor market information, business demands, and potential participants’ needs should inform the content of applications. Information gathered from early intervention activities helps applicants provide a rationale for enrollment estimates and how proposed grant activities will meet the needs of the participants.

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States and local workforce areas must prioritize efforts designed to prevent or minimize the impacts of dislocations through layoff aversion efforts and other reemployment efforts through

Rapid Response before requesting supplemental funds through a DWG. To maximize the effectiveness of early intervention strategies for dislocated workers, and to deliver services while a DWG application is pending, the Department encourages states to initiate services for comprehensive Rapid Response services where Rapid Response funds are available. For more information on Rapid Response and layoff aversion activities, see Training and Employment

Guidance Letter (TEGL) 19-16, Guidance on Services provided through the Adult and

Dislocated Worker Programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service (ES), as amended by title III of WIOA, and for

Implementation of the WIOA Final Rules.

Employment Recovery DWGs provide employment and training assistance to dislocated workers and other eligible participants as described below.

Qualifying Layoff Events

The below lists qualifying events which permit an eligible entity to submit an application for

Employment Recovery DWG funding. After receiving the application, DOL will review the application and determine whether to award DWG funding. 20 CFR 687.110(a)(5) states that the

Secretary of Labor may determine additional qualifying events. Qualifying events for

Employment Recovery DWGs include:

Mass Layoff or Plant Closure. Layoffs or plant closures affecting 50 or more workers from at least one employer within the applicant’s service area. As long as applicants document at least one layoff or plant closure affecting 50 or more workers, applicants are not required to demonstrate more than one layoff of 50 or more workers as part of the qualifying event.

However, DOL may require additional information in an application to substantiate the size and scope of a DWG funding request.

Community Impact. Multiple small dislocations occurring over a period of up to 12 months that have significantly increased the number of unemployed individuals in a state, regional, or local workforce area or areas, often in rural areas, may qualify for an Employment Recovery DWG.

These community impact events might not reach 50 affected workers but create a substantial economic impact.

Higher-than-Average Demand for Services from Dislocated Members of the Armed Services. A higher-than-average demand for employment and training activities for dislocated members of the Armed Services and dislocated military spouses that exceed state, local, or tribal resources for providing such activities may qualify for Employment Recovery DWG funding.

The higher-than average demand qualifying event, unlike a mass layoff or community impact, requires additional information to demonstrate that the qualifying event described in WIOA

Section 170(b)(1)(D) has occurred. DOL expects an applicant to demonstrate each of the following elements:

1) A demand for employment and training services for dislocated members of the Armed

Services and dislocated military spouses that is above average; and

2) This demand for employment and training services by this population will exceed existing state, local, or tribal resources for providing such services.

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An applicant also must demonstrate that it will carry out the activities in its proposed project in partnership with Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs transition assistance programs, as well as other programs serving this population within the American Job

Center (AJC) system or through partner programs, as appropriate.

For a detailed description of how these requirements can be demonstrated in an application, please see Section 2.A below.

Applicants who are not a state workforce agency or local workforce development board (WDB) must coordinate with appropriate local WDBs or with the state to obtain data to determine the demand for employment and training activities for military service members and spouses, as well as information on limitations of available formula funds to meet the…