US Department of Labor awards $793K to continue unemployment assistance for Tennessee residents affected by Tropical Storm Helene

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a supplemental award of $793,000 to Tennessee to continue providing disaster unemployment assistance for people in communities whose livelihoods were harmed when Tropical Storm Helene swept through the area in September 2024. 

“Many workers had their lives completely upended when Tropical Storm Helene swept across Tennessee. As communities continue working to rebuild, I’m pleased to approve additional unemployment assistance for hardworking Tennesseans who were impacted by this disaster,” Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said. 

The department’s Employment and Training Administration awarded a grant to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development to enable them to deliver benefit payments to the state’s eligible Disaster Unemployment Assistance claimants and to cover program administrative costs. The funding announced today allows the state to continue providing financial assistance to people who lost their jobs, or had their employment or self-employment interrupted, as a direct result of the disaster and who are not eligible for regular unemployment benefits. 

On Oct. 2, 2024, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the major disaster declaration enabling the state to request federal assistance. Later in October 2024, FEMA authorized an initial obligation of $938,400 to implement disaster unemployment assistance in response to Tropical Storm Helene. 

Supported by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program provides funds to state unemployment insurance agencies to pay benefits and state administration costs under agreements with the Secretary of Labor.