• An Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance declaration issued by the SBA makes loans available to small businesses and private, non-profit organizations in designated areas of a state or territory to help alleviate economic injury caused by the COVID-19.

• SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance will coordinate with the state’s or territory’s Governor to submit the request for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance.

• Once a declaration is made for designated areas within a state, the information on the application process for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance will be made available to all affected communities as well as updated on our website: SBA.gov/disaster.

• SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans offer up to $2 million in assistance per small business and can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.

• These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses without credit available elsewhere; businesses with credit available elsewhere are not eligible. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75%.

• SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years. Terms are determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay.

• SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans are just one piece of the expanded focus of the federal government’s coordinated response, and the SBA is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible.

• For additional information, please contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center. Call 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 1-800-877-8339) or e-mail disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

U.S. Department of Labor Announces Availability of Up to $100 Million In National Health Emergency Dislocated Worker Grants in Response to COVID-19 Outbreak

The DOL announced the availability of up to $100 million for Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs) to help address the workforce-related impacts of the public health emergency related to COVID-19.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a nationwide public health emergency as a result of confirmed cases of the coronavirus. This federal declaration enables the Secretary of Labor to award Disaster Recovery DWGs to help address the workforce-related impacts of this public health emergency (WIOA Act Section 170(a)(1)(B)).

Entities eligible to apply for Disaster Recovery DWGs are states, outlying areas and Indian Tribal Governments as defined in the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(6)). Disaster Recovery DWGs will provide eligible participants with both disaster-relief employment and employment and training activities. These participants can include dislocated workers, workers who were laid-off as a result of the disaster, self-employed individuals who are unemployed or underemployed as a result of the disaster, and long-term unemployed individuals. 

Eligible entities can also apply for Employment Recovery DWGs in response to layoffs caused by cancellations or shutdowns caused by coronavirus. Employment Recovery DWGs will provide employment and training services to reintegrate eligible individuals back into the workforce. States can apply for Employment Recovery DWGs if 50 or more individuals are laid off by one employer or if there are significant layoffs that significantly increase unemployment in a given community, even if the total layoffs are fewer than 50 individuals.  

Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Dislocated Worker Grants temporarily expand the service capacity of dislocated worker programs at the state and local levels by providing funding assistance in response to large, unexpected economic events that cause significant job losses.

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