Sponsors (4)
The bill creates a targeted hiring tax credit to encourage employers to rehire disaster-displaced workers in federally declared major disasters, improving re-employment prospects while limiting coverage through declaration requirements, administrative certification, remote-work exclusions, and start-date rules.
Employers who hire certified displaced disaster survivors can claim a new Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), lowering hiring costs and incentivizing rehiring after major disasters.
Displaced workers who lost housing and jobs in covered disasters receive prioritized hiring incentives, improving their chances of re-employment within one year of the incident period.
The benefit is focused on survivors of Presidential major disasters (with individual assistance), directing resources to formally declared disaster areas.
Workers impacted by disasters that do not receive a Presidential major-disaster individual assistance declaration are excluded from the credit, leaving many affected workers without the benefit.
Rehired workers who perform 30+ hours of work outside the disaster zone are excluded from wages that qualify for the credit, reducing its value for employers with remote or relocated positions.
Requiring certification by a designated local agency creates administrative burden and potential delays for workers and employers seeking to claim the credit.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds a new WOTC category letting employers claim a credit for hiring displaced disaster victims from qualifying Presidential major disasters (effective Jan 1, 2024).
Introduced March 6, 2025 by Jasmine Crockett · Last progress March 6, 2025
Creates a new, temporary category in the Work Opportunity Tax Credit that lets employers claim a hiring credit for hiring "displaced disaster victims" from qualifying major disasters. The credit applies to hires beginning on or after January 1, 2024 and limits covered disasters to those with Presidential major disaster declarations that include individual assistance; FEMA incident periods define timing and geographic limits. The rule includes a transition provision that extends the hiring window for disasters whose incident periods ended before enactment (treating the hiring deadline as one year after the incident period end) and excludes wages for weeks in which a hired worker performs 30 or more hours of work located outside the qualified disaster zone.