County Announces Temporary Disaster Jobs Program

Workers dislocated by Hurricane Irene may be eligible for a temporary employment program, the county announced.

Bergen County’s Disaster Relief Employment Program hires individuals for six months to assist with countywide disaster relief and clean-up projects that provide food, clothing and shelter to disaster victims.

Workers who have been temporarily or permanently dislocated as a result of the disaster and are not receiving unemployment compensation or other types of income support are eligible. Long-term unemployed individuals, historically defined as those out of work for more than 27 weeks, are also eligible for the county’s temporary employment program.

An individual worker’s compensation will be capped at approximately $12,000 for the six-month duration of the program.

After six months, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development will reassess conditions to determine whether to extend the temporary employment program.

The temporary positions were created through a partnership between Bergen County’s Workforce Investment Board (WIB), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Bergen One-Stop Career Center, with funding provided by a United States Department of Labor National Emergency Grant.

Individuals who qualify for the program and want to participate should visit the Bergen County FEMA office on the fourth floor of One Bergen County Plaza in Hackensack, or call the WIB office at 201-329-9600, extension 5527.