2 days ago
Maryland launches new loan program for laid-off federal workers
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th) addressed a crowd of hundreds outside NOAA's Silver Spring headquarters in March, just days after the Trump administration cut hundreds of jobs from the agency. (Photo by Jack Bowman/Maryland Matters)
Marylanders affected by federal layoffs this year can now apply for an interest-free state loan to help them pay the bills in the short term, according a press release Thursday from the state Department of Labor.
The Federal Emergency Loan Program is directed at the thousands of Maryland residents who have lost jobs in the federal government so far since the Trump administration began slashing the federal workforce to cut down federal spending.
The loan program was created this year under the new Protect Our Federal Workers Act, sponsored this year by Majority Whip Jazz Lewis (D-Prince George's) and signed into law in April. The law expands the use of two current employee-assistance funds so they apply to federal workers laid off as the Trump administration rushes to slash the size of government. It also expands the authority of the attorney general's office to take legal action on behalf of laid-off federal workers in some instances, and it creates an expedited state hiring program for workers who lost jobs due to administration cuts.
'Let's be clear — these federal workers didn't lose their jobs because they failed us,' Lewis said in a written statement. 'They lost them because of reckless decisions in Washington that turned public servants into political targets. These are our neighbors, our veterans, our civil servants — people who dedicated their lives to this country.'
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The program offers a $700 interest-free loan for residents who qualify. Those residents must have been terminated from a federal job since Trump took office, in a mass layoff, relocation, or closure of a unit of the federal government, or in a similar situation beyond their control.
Former federal workers must also demonstrate that they are experiencing 'financial hardships' caused by the loss of their job in the loan application. Recipients have 180 days to pay the loan back, though they can ask for a 90-day extension if hardships continue. Federal contractors are not eligible for the loan.
'This loan program is an important piece of Maryland's larger effort to respond to federal job loss, providing emergency financial assistance while we are also working to connect thousands of Marylanders to new job opportunities and help with career transition,' Maryland Labor Secretary Portia Wu said in a written statement Thursday.
Maryland's workforce is uniquely susceptible to the effects of the federal layoffs, and its economy is heavily reliant on federal employment, due to the state's proximity to Washington, D.C., though the exact scope of the impact to the state is challenging to calculate, according to labor department officials. So far, about 1,600 federal unemployment claims have been filed since the Trump administration started in January, the department said.
In addition to the new loan program, the Moore administration is also working to connect laid-off federal workers with state jobs, among other measures, in an effort to mitigate those impacts.
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