More help on the way for US workers and employers
7 February 2014
Employers in the state of Washington are set to receive financial support to keep their employees on rather than lay them off, after the US Department of Labor pledged $2,136,749 (£1,306,722).
Fri, 7 Feb 2014Employers in the state of Washington are set to receive financial support to keep their employees on rather than lay them off, after the US Department of Labor pledged $2,136,749 (£1,306,722).
The money will promote the state’s short-time compensation programme, a layoff prevention programme also known as ‘work-sharing’.
The STC Program allows employers to reduce work hours for a group of employees as an alternative to layoffs during tough economic times. With STC, workers affected by reduced hours have their lowered wages supplemented by a percentage of the weekly unemployment compensation available to them.
The benefit is that employees keep their jobs and benefits, while employers maintain their skilled workforce and avoid having to hire and train new workers when business activity increases again.
Of the funds awarded, Washington will allocate $708,445 for enhancements to the STC Program, while the remaining $1,428,304 will go towards educating the public about the advantages of the STC Program and increasing enrolment of employers into the programme.
At the same time, the US Department of Labor also announced a $1,510,320 grant to help around 310 workers affected by layoffs at nine companies in the Milwaukee area, in the state of Wisconsin.
US secretary of labor Thomas E Perez says: “This National Emergency Grant will provide them [the workers] with opportunities for re-training and employment services that are crucial to helping them get back to work quickly.”
In another development aimed at helping US workers, President Obama, unveiled a new Ready to Work Partnership grant competition from the US Labor department that will fund innovative, public-private re-employment and job training programmes. The president stated that the goal of these efforts is “connecting more ready-to-work Americans with ready-to-be-filled jobs”.
The money will promote the state’s short-time compensation programme, a layoff prevention programme also known as ‘work-sharing’.
The STC Program allows employers to reduce work hours for a group of employees as an alternative to layoffs during tough economic times. With STC, workers affected by reduced hours have their lowered wages supplemented by a percentage of the weekly unemployment compensation available to them.
The benefit is that employees keep their jobs and benefits, while employers maintain their skilled workforce and avoid having to hire and train new workers when business activity increases again.
Of the funds awarded, Washington will allocate $708,445 for enhancements to the STC Program, while the remaining $1,428,304 will go towards educating the public about the advantages of the STC Program and increasing enrolment of employers into the programme.
At the same time, the US Department of Labor also announced a $1,510,320 grant to help around 310 workers affected by layoffs at nine companies in the Milwaukee area, in the state of Wisconsin.
US secretary of labor Thomas E Perez says: “This National Emergency Grant will provide them [the workers] with opportunities for re-training and employment services that are crucial to helping them get back to work quickly.”
In another development aimed at helping US workers, President Obama, unveiled a new Ready to Work Partnership grant competition from the US Labor department that will fund innovative, public-private re-employment and job training programmes. The president stated that the goal of these efforts is “connecting more ready-to-work Americans with ready-to-be-filled jobs”.
