United States Department of Labor

Hurricane Recovery Assistance

The U.S. Department of Labor is assisting in the recovery efforts in communities affected by this season's hurricanes.

The Department of Labor support includes the following income and job assistance:

• DOL's National Contact Center
  1-866-4-USA-DOL (1-866-487-2365)
• Unemployment Insurance (UI)
  The Federal-State Unemployment Insurance Program provides unemployment benefits to eligible workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own. To find your state's unemployment insurance information, visit https://www.servicelocator.org/OWSLinks.asp.
  • Hurricane Isaac:
    • Mississippi, 1-888-844-3577 or by visiting any office of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. A list of sites that are currently open is available at http://mdes.ms.gov/wps/portal/.
    • Louisiana, over the Internet at http://www.laworks.net or at the nearest Louisiana Job Service Center. Claimants who were previously receiving benefits, have questions, or need to change their address should call 1-866-783-5567.
• National Emergency Grants (NEGs)
  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.
  Learn how to apply for a National Emergency Grant.
• 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.
  Learn how to keep workers safe during clean up and recovery operations following hurricanes.
• Worker Claims
  The Department's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) has instructions for claimants under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) and information for the longshore community.

Hazards from weakened and damaged trees, downed power lines, high water, and other dangers remain from hurricanes. We urge citizens to be mindful of instructions from state and local officials. Individuals in declared counties can register online for disaster assistance at www.fema.gov or call FEMA’s toll free registration line at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362); for the hearing impaired TTY 800-462-7585.

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]

News Releases

• US Department of Labor provides grant to assist Mississippi with recovery efforts following Hurricane Isaac - 12-1826-ATL [09/06/2012]
• US Department of Labor provides grant to assist Louisiana with recovery efforts following Hurricane Isaac - 12-1826-DAL [09/06/2012]
• US Labor Department's OSHA urges recovery workers and public to guard against hazards during Hurricane Isaac cleanup - 12-1794-ATL [08/30/2012] (Español)
• US Labor Department's OSHA urges recovery workers and public to guard against hazards during Hurricane Isaac cleanup - 12-1789-DAL [08/30/2012] (Español)