Severe Storm and Flood Recovery Assistance
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The U.S. Department of Labor assists in recovery efforts in the communities affected by severe storms and floods. For general questions and assistance, please contact DOL's National Contact Center at 1-866-487-2365.
The Department of Labor support includes the following income and job assistance:
National Emergency Grants (NEG's)
Impacted states can apply for NEG funds that can be used to temporarily employ dislocated workers. These funds can be used to employ workers on projects that provide food, clothing, shelter and other humanitarian assistance for disaster victims.
Storm Recovery News Releases
- DOL grant to help Kentucky residents after severe storms by creating temporary jobs for cleanup, recovery efforts [06/06/2011]
- DOL to continue assistance toward recovery efforts from Tropical Storm Otto in Puerto Rico [06/03/2011]
- DOL provides grant to help Oklahoma residents recover from severe storms [05/31/2011]
- DOL provides grant to assist Missouri with recovery efforts following tornado damage [05/27/2011]
- DOL provides $3.8 million grant to help Arkansas residents recover from severe storms [05/25/2011]
- DOL provides $3.6 million to help Tennessee residents recover from severe storms [05/20/2011]
- DOL provides grant to assist tsunami recovery efforts along northern California coast [05/11/2011]
- DOL provides grant to help Georgia residents recover from severe storms [05/09/2011]
- DOL provides grant to help Mississippi residents recover from severe storms [05/06/2011]
- DOL provides grant to help Alabama residents recover from severe storms [05/04/2011]
- DOL provides grant to assist tsunami recovery efforts along Oregon coast [04/19/2011]
- DOL provides additional funding to continue recovery efforts in Puerto Rico following Tropical Storm Otto [04/19/2011]
- DOL provides continued assistance for recovery efforts in Texas following Hurricane Alex [04/19/2011]
- DOL provides additional funding to continue storm recovery and cleanup efforts in Puerto Rico [03/31/2011]
Cleanup & Recovery
Occupational Safety and Health
The Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is making available technical assistance and resources to help protect those participating in cleanup and recovery efforts. Please visit the OSHA Flood and Tornado Cleanup and Recovery Web page or review these fact sheets on natural disaster recovery from OSHA:
- Cleanup Hazard: [HTML] / [PDF] / [En Español]
- Flood Cleanup: [HTML] / [PDF] / [En Español]
- Downed Electrical Wires: [PDF]
- Fungi: [HTML] / [PDF] / [En Español]
- Falls: [PDF] / [En Español]
- Electrical: [PDF] / [En Español]
- Chainsaws: [PDF] / [En Español]
- Tree Trimming: [PDF] / [En Español]
Service Contract Act
The Service Contract Act (SCA), which generally applies to federally-funded clean-up activities following a disaster, requires contractors and subcontractors performing services on prime contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees in various classes no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality, or the rates (including prospective increases) contained in a predecessor contractor's collective bargaining agreement.
Davis-Bacon Regulations for Federal Contractors
The Davis-Bacon Act requires all contractors and subcontractors performing work on federal or District of Columbia construction contracts or federally assisted contracts in excess of $2,000 to pay their laborers and mechanics not less than the prevailing wage rates and fringe benefits for corresponding classes of laborers and mechanics employed on similar projects in the area. In addition to the Davis-Bacon Act itself, Congress has added prevailing wage provisions to approximately 60 statutes which assist construction projects through grants, loans, loan guarantees, and insurance. These are referred to as “Related Acts.”
Other Resources
- For information on other available Federal resources, please visit http://www.usa.gov/flooding.shtml
- For information on the latest Federal Disaster Declarations by state and county, please visit http://www.fema.gov/news/disasters.fema
- For information on how citizens can locate and apply for disaster relief, please visit DisasterAssistance.gov