Employ Prince George's Relaunches The COVID-19 Rapid Re-Employment Grants (RREG) Initiative For Businesses To Put Prince George's County's Unemployed Residents Back To Work

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Sep 01, 2021, 05:00 ET

LARGO, Md., Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Employ Prince George's (EPG), Prince George's County's principal workforce development entity, announces the relaunch of its successful Prince George's County COVID-19 Rapid Re-Employment Grants (RREG) Initiative. Operating under EPG's Covid-19 Workforce Development Recovery Program, the goal of the Rapid Re-Employment Grants is to put thousands of Prince George's County's residents back to work while providing financial support to struggling businesses. In 2020, Employ Prince George's launched the Prince George's County COVID-19 Workforce Development Recovery Program serving over 600 residents and distributing more than $540,000 in Rapid Re-Employment Grants by the end of the year to businesses helping unemployed Prince George's County residents regain employment during the pandemic. In 2021, through funding from Prince George's County Government, Employ Prince George's plans to distribute over $5,000,000 to businesses in need and who are hiring unemployed Prince George's County residents. This initiative will launch on September 1^st with a goal to continue supporting businesses and unemployed residents over the next three years.

Prince George's County Rapid Re-Employment Grants Initiative

"The relaunch of the Rapid Re-Employment Grants Initiative is a major step in our efforts to rebuild our local economy as we continue to navigate our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic," says Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. "We are so Prince George's Proud of the work that Employ Prince George's has done through this successful program to ensure Prince George's County's residents and businesses are able to recover from the devastating impact of this pandemic. This allocation of new funding through the American Rescue Plan will allow Employ Prince George's to continue this successful program to support our business community, get residents back to work, and revitalize our local economy."

With renewed funding by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), EPG will disburse up to $15,000 in grants per employee to businesses that hire currently unemployed Prince George's County residents. Businesses are only eligible to apply for a Rapid Re-Employment Grant for newly hired regular or fixed-term employees (part-time or full-time.) Newly hired seasonal and temporary employees do not qualify for Rapid Re-Employment Grants. The maximum wages of new employees covered under the Rapid Re-Employment Grant Initiative are employees making $40 per hour or less.

"Through this important program, we will connect job seekers with county-based businesses looking to fill key roles as they build back their presence in our region, which will mean a faster economic recovery for all residents," said Prince George's County Deputy Chief Adminstrative Officer for Economic Development Angie Rodgers. "The use of these recovery funds is helping us create systems to rebuild our post-pandemic economy so that everyone, especially those left behind in previous economic recovery efforts, have access to opportunities that will lead to prosperity for them and their families."

"This time last year, thousands of Prince George's County residents were unemployed, and thousands of businesses were struggling to survive through the new year. This year, businesses are struggling to fill positions, overcoming more than a year of lost revenue while still trying to provide great services/products to their customers. To assist the Prince George's County economy while recovering from the recession caused by the pandemic, Prince George's County Government is funding EPG's Rapid Re-Employment Grant Initiative and EPG's COVID-19 Workforce Development Recovery Program to simultaneously help struggling businesses and unemployed Prince George's County residents." states President and CEO, Walter Simmons. EPG will provide small businesses with grants covering 75% of a new employee's salary, and large businesses are eligible for grants covering 50% of a new hire's salary for the first 12 weeks of their employment. Grants will be awarded to the businesses on the new employee's first day of employment. The business must be approved for the grant prior to the new employee being hired, the new employee must be a currently unemployed Prince George's County resident, and the new employee must start within 30 days of the business's grant application. "The burdens Prince George's County's businesses and residents have had to endure this past year have never been seen before, and EPG is dedicated to helping them overcome these burdens by providing economic opportunities that benefit the entire economy. The COVID-19 Workforce Development Recovery Program, and its Rapid Re-Employment Grant Initiative, is a national best practice and with the resources allocated by Prince Geroge's County government, Employ Prince George's is sure to be a jolt to the Prince George's County economy," stated Simmons.

For businesses interested in applying for the COVID-19 Rapid Re-Employment Grants, please visit the Employ Prince George's website, www.EmployPG.org/rapidgrants, to apply, or email the Employ Prince George's Business Services Department at [email protected] today.

Employ Prince George's (EPG) provides workforce development services for job seekers and businesses. EPG's mission is to improve the local economy by creating a demand-driven workforce system in Prince George's County with workforce development programs that deliver qualified workers to businesses, improves the productivity of businesses, and provides job seekers with opportunities for careers in high demand/high growth industries.

For more information, please visit www.Employpg.org.

SOURCE Employ Prince George's