Employers will soon be looking for more workers who have been unemployed for 6 months or longer, as well as those who are Massachusetts veterans. According to the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Workforce, officials with the Patrick Administration in Veterans Services have more than doubled the amount of cash grants that are available to companies who hire these individuals, and it’s all available through the state’s Hiring Incentive Training Grant (HITG).
“This grant program is a valuable incentive for employers who want to boost their workforce but may need additional resources to add new hires,” said Joanne F. Goldstein, Secretary for the Labor and Workforce Development.
Our Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers understand that employers can receive $5,000 for each new hire that meets the qualifications of this program. Employers are eligible to receive nearly $80,000 each year. Once the worker is hired, they have to remain employed for a minimum of 120 days to qualify. But is this the best or safest way to get people back to work?
According to a study by the Government Accountability Office released last year, workers 55 and older have experienced consistently longer periods of unemployment than younger workers, as employers seek cheaper labor and look to skirt potentially higher health care costs.
Through the state’s Hiring Incentive Training Grant, officials have been able to provide millions to help employers to train new workers. Most recently, officials with the EOLWD announced that they were handing over close to $3 million in Workforce Training Fund grants. With this grant, the Patrick Administration has totaled close to $16 million in grant since July of 2012 and has helped to properly train more than 15,000 workers in the state last year.
This latest announcement comes with the launch of “Hire A Vet Month”
The preference for hiring the already employed has gone on for years and years. The difference was, back then it used to be that very few people were not working. Because unemployment rates were low, there was more of a possibility that if you were unemployed, you were at fault. It’s always been easier to find a job when you have a job.
With the new grant, officials are trying to make the unemployed more appealing, realizing that it might always be their fault that they’re unemployed. According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Labor, there are close to 15 million Americans who are currently unemployed, and more than 6 million of them have been jobless for more than six months.
Getting the unemployed and veteran workers back on the job is a great idea. The important thing that we need to look at here is that the state’s grant money is being used to help to train these workers and to provide them with the work environment that they deserve. It’s not just extra lunch money for these companies. It comes with a purpose.
If you or a loved one has been injured on the job in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your workers’ compensation claim– (617) 777-7777.
More Blog Entries:
Keeping Your Employees Safe in an Emergency, Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Blog, October 19, 2013
“Drive Safely Work Week” To Keep Driving Workers Alive, Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Blog, October 15, 2013