US Department of Labor awards $4M in funding to North Carolina for continued disaster-relief jobs, training for those affected by Hurricane Helene WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today awarded an additional $4 million in funding to support disaster-relief jobs and continued employment and training for North Carolina residents affected in September 2024 when Hurricane Helene brought the worst flooding in a century to the area. In October 2024, the department’s Employment and Training Administration awarded the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions a National Dislocated Worker Grant of up to $10 million, with an initial award of $2 million, to support cleanup and recovery activities in 38 counties declared eligible for FEMA’s Public Assistance Program: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Iredell, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Polk, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Union, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin and Yancey as well as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The department announced a second incremental award of $4 million in April 2025.This Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant allows the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions to provide temporary jobs focused on cleanup and recovery efforts, and offer employment and training services to storm survivors.Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, National Dislocated Worker Grants provide state or local board funding for direct services and assistance in areas experiencing major economic dislocation events that leads to workforce needs exceeding available resources.
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US Department of Labor empowers states, localities to spur innovation across the workforce development system WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration today announced new guidance aimed at empowering state and local workforce development boards to innovate and optimize service delivery of these workforce systems. In support of President Trump’s Executive Order “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future,” the department emphasizes the potential for strategic utilization of the Secretary’s waiver authority to increase flexibility within the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs. State and local workforce boards are urged to review their policies and request waivers of statutory requirements that impede their ability to align with the Trump Administration’s strategic pillars for workforce investment. “Since President Trump returned to office, the Department of Labor has moved quickly to strengthen and modernize America’s workforce system,” said Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer. “This guidance delivers on the President’s vision to Make America Skilled Again by giving states the flexibility they need to build a future-ready workforce. By expanding opportunities for innovation, we’re helping hardworking Americans gain skills for in-demand, mortgage-paying jobs and secure a brighter future for their families.”“As AI transforms the economy, it’s more important than ever that our workforce development system has the agility to respond to a rapidly changing labor market,” said Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling. “The Department of Labor is taking decisive action that builds on our America’s Talent Strategy report and provides state and local agencies with the flexibility to drive innovative approaches to support American workers.”In alignment with “America’s Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age,” this guidance promotes specific waivers to enhance state governance of the workforce system and integrate workforce development, career and technical education, and human services programming to ensure comprehensive support for job seekers. This alignment promotes efficiency and maximizes the impact of workforce investments.By allowing flexibility in existing funding, scaling industry-driven strategies, and investing in new technologies and AI-powered capabilities, workforce programs can better support American workers and businesses as the economy evolves. The strategies outlined throughout this guidance demonstrate vast opportunities to transform existing workforce investments and reaffirm the department’s commitment to fostering an innovative, responsive, and effective workforce development system. Read Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 05-25, which applies to the WIOA Youth and Adult and Dislocated Worker programs. 
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United States seeks Mexico’s review of alleged denial of workers’ rights at Freixenet facility WASHINGTON – The United States has invoked the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to review whether workers at Freixenet de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., located in Ezequiel Montes, Queretaro, Mexico, are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The United States has suspended liquidation of unliquidated entries of goods into this country from the Freixenet facility, which manufactures and commercializes cava and still wines. Today’s action demonstrates the Trump administration’s America First approach, which ensures our trade partners do not undermine worker protections to gain an unfair trade advantage or attract investment.  The Secretary of Labor and the United States Trade Representative co-chair the Interagency Labor Committee for Monitoring and Enforcement (ILC). On October 29, 2025, the ILC received an RRM petition from Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Industria Alimenticia en General, Lácteos, Gastronómicos, Hoteles, Comercios, Franquicias, Similares y Conexos, C.T.M. The petition alleges that the company violated workers’ rights by interfering in employees’ union activity, discouraging worker support for a specific union, facilitating meetings for the company’s preferred union, and encouraging workers to support that union. The ILC reviews RRM petitions that it receives, and the accompanying information, within 30 days. After conducting this review, the ILC determined that there is sufficient, credible evidence of a denial of rights enabling the good faith invocation of enforcement mechanisms. As a result, the United States Trade Representative has submitted a request to Mexico to review whether workers at Freixenet are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Mexico has 10 days to agree to conduct a review and, if it agrees, 45 days from today to complete the review.  The RRM, developed under the first Trump administration, is an unprecedented trade tool that helps to level the playing field for American workers and businesses by preventing Mexican businesses from gaining a competitive advantage by violating labor laws.A copy of the request for review can be found here. A copy of the letter to the Secretary of the Treasury can be found here. Information about previous requests can be found here. Learn more about the department’s work to make global competition fair for American workers.  # # #
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Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report In the week ending November 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 216,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 220,000 to 222,000. The 4-week moving average was 223,750, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 224,250 to 224,750.
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US Labor Department extends contest dates for workplace safety, health, citations, focuses efforts to address pending complaints WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has resumed normal enforcement operations and is working diligently to continue its mission to ensure safe and healthy working conditions free from unlawful retaliation, while also helping employers reduce job hazards following a lapse in appropriations. During the lapse in appropriations, OSHA received safety and health complaints that did not meet criteria for excepted activity and, therefore, were not processed upon receipt. The agency is now actively addressing the backlog of complaints, which may be processed via informal inquiry, and OSHA will respond as quickly as possible. Individuals do not need to resubmit their complaints.Additionally, OSHA has extended the time employers have to respond to citations issued immediately prior to or during the government shutdown. Shutdown days do not count as “working days.” For employers whose citations were issued and/or received between October 1 and November 12, 2025, OSHA tolled the 15-day contest period due to the lapse in appropriations. These contest periods are now extended through December 4, 2025. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, a company has 15 working days from receipt of their citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Penalties and citations may be adjusted throughout the course of the case process. Please check the OSHA establishment search page periodically for any changes in the inspection or penalty status.Visit OSHA’s website for information about the inspection process. Employers can also contact the agency for information about OSHA’s compliance assistance resources and for free help on complying with OSHA standards. 
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