labor lawAdivision of labor law center

In terms of economy, some regions of the United States are not doing as well as the rest of the country. The government is trying to bring these areas at par with the regions that are better off. For this purpose, a project by the name of Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, or WIRED, has been started. WIRED helps areas with struggling economies improve, by providing training to the workers.           

In a recent speech, Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily DeRocco said, “Strong regional economies that are built on maximizing talent and innovation will be crucial to the nation’s success in the global economy.” This principle is the driving force behind WIRED.

WIRED plans to spend up to 5 million dollars on Arkansas Unemployment Grant. Arkansas is one of the regions that are not doing too well economically, and have a high rate of Unemployment. Initially, Arkansas will be given a gift of 500,000 dollars, to be spent on training of workers. The rest will be given them after a regional implementation plan has been made.

When announcing this grant for Arkansas, U. S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao said, “Investing in area workforces through this collaborative approach will boost entire regions’ economic vitality. This regional economic development strategy transcends political boundaries to better leverage a region’s assets to help workers succeed in the 21st century worldwide economy.”

WIRED is focusing on economically under-developed regions in Puerto Rico, Northern Alabama, Northern Indiana, the Arkansas Valley Tri-State Area, Southeastern Michigan, Appalachian Ohio, the Rio Grande Valley in Texas Southern Tennessee, Southwestern Connecticut, Southwestern Arkansas, Southeastern Wisconsin, the Wasatch Range in Utah, Northern California and the Arkansas/Mississippi Delta.

In the first phase of WIRED, $195 million has been distributed in thirteen regions throughout America. In the second phase, another $65 million will be distributed, based on a competition involving state governors. 

Five million dollars in federal grant money is coming to the delta region of Arkansas according to a recent announcement by Emily DeRocco, Assistant Secretary for the US Department of Labor.  This $5 million is part of the WIRED program announced in 2007. The program was initiated in 2005 to assist areas across the nation address the issues of poor employment outlook and sluggish economic growth.

Here’s the latest update on the Arkansas unemployment grant. The state continues to prepare a detailed plan for the wire grant, using the first half million dollars in funds. Once that plan is completed and approved, the US Dept. of Labor will release the balance of the five million dollars. 

The Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) program awarded $195 million in federal grants during the first round of operation in 2005.  These original grants were distributed to 13 regions cited by their state governors as areas where economic performance is stagnant and unemployment rates are high.  The current round of grants is expected to exceed $65 million. 

According to Secretary DeRocco, “Strong regional economies that are built on maximizing talent and innovation will be crucial to the nation’s success in the global economy.” 

In its effort to maximize talent and boost innovation in the delta region of Arkansas, the US Department of Labor is awarding $5 million to be used to train and update skills of many workers in the region.  The $5 million will be funded in two phases.  The first phase of funds, $500,000, will be used for immediate training opportunities while the remaining $4.5 million will be funded once an implementation plan for the region has been established. 

The WIRED program falls under the auspices of the Employment and Training Administration within the US Department of Labor.  US Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao recently endorsed the program by stating, “Investing in area workforces through this collaborative approach will boost entire regions’ economic vitality.”  Secretary Chao further states, “This regional economic development strategy transcends political boundaries to better leverage a region’s assets to help workers succeed in the 21st century worldwide economy.”

A trio of Arkansas community colleges received grants exceeding $5 million recently from the U.S. Department of Labor. The grants will fund programs across the U.S. to train workers for high-demand occupations, including healthcare, construction, advanced manufacturing and energy.

The Arkansas Dept. of Labor grants were given based on a competition between 429 schools.”Community colleges are vital partners in educating and preparing workers for good jobs in their local area,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.

The prestigious Arkansas Dept. of Labor grants went to three community colleges, including Rich Mountain Community College in Mena, Arkansas, which received a grant of $2,349,207 to train workers in healthcare. The South Arkansas Community College program in El Dorado received $1,573,688 to train workers in the healthcare industry. Finally, the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville received $1,992,274 for a healthcare training program. 

“The $125 million these 72 community college partnerships will receive under the President’s Community-Based Job Training Initiative is going to help workers succeed in careers in health care, advanced manufacturing and other growing industries,” said Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. 

The purpose of the Arkansas Dept. of Labor grants is to increase worker skills in the area, especially in high-demand areas. More than 104 awards have been made since the program’s inception in 2005.  The community college’s ability to equip workers with the skills that are most in demand is crucial to our nation’s success.  Skilled workers can enter growing industries and contribute to economic success.

The Arkansas Dept. of Labor grants are part of over $125 million for 72 community colleges in 34 states awarded under the President’s Community-based Job Training Grants initiative. The program was introduced by President George W. Bush in his 2004 State of the Union Address.

“Today’s awards recall the imperative that businesses and the workforce system team up with their region’s community colleges to ensure that workers are armed with the right skills to thrive in the 21st century economy,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco. “Community colleges are closely tied to the areas they serve, and they have proven themselves adept at responding to the regional workforce demands of numerous industries.”

With the new swell of support for Democrats in the nation’s capitol, the U.S. Department of Labor is working to improve the economy in troubled regions, including the Arkansas Delta regions of Arkansas and Mississippi.

Part of that effort includes a recent Arkansas unemployment grant of up to $5 million to train workers in the Arkansas Delta region. According to U. S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, “Investing in area workforces through this collaborative approach will boost entire regions’ economic vitality.” Secretary of Labor Chao adds, “This regional economic development strategy transcends political boundaries to better leverage a region’s assets to help workers succeed in the 21st century worldwide economy.”

The grant includes an initial award of $500,000. After a regional implementation plan is completed, the region will then have access to an additional $4.5 million grant.

The Arkansas unemployment grant, aimed at easing Arkansas unemployment in the troubled Arkansas Delta region, which includes areas in the states of Arkansas and Mississippi. The Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development program, or WIRED, is an effort by the U.S. Labor Department’s Employment and Training Administration to help struggling regional economies in several areas.

According to Assistant U.S. Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily DeRocco, “Strong regional economies that are built on maximizing talent and innovation will be crucial to the nation’s success in the global economy.”

The U. S. Department of Labor recently announced that thousands of Arkansas workers would be among those to benefit from a grant of up to $65 million. Under the WIRED program, the region will use the grant to improve Arkansas unemployment and the area economy by training employees. WIRED works to integrate economic and workforce development activities and demonstrate that talent development can create economic transformation in regional economies across the United States. The first round of WIRED grants in 2005 awarded $195 million to 13 regions. The grants are awarded based on a competition involving the state governors.  The WIRED initiative has already demonstrated its success.

It wasn’t difficult to find the Arkansas (AR) labor laws on the internet. Several of them are similar in nature to many of the other states’ labor laws. You can find the AR labor laws on posters found throughout businesses in the state. These posters of the AR labor laws are required to be displayed throughout the workplace where employees have easy access to them. Many times an employer will post these around a time clock or in a break area. 

The easiest of the AR labor laws to find was the minimum wage law. The minimum wage currently is $5.15 an hour, but is scheduled to increase to $6.25 on October 1, 2006. This minimum wage law applies to all employers who have 4 or more persons working for them. There are exceptions to this law, so the minimum wage doesn’t apply to executives, farm laborers and students working in a job training program. 

There is also an overtime labor law in the state of Arkansas. A full work week consists of 40 hours, so any hours worked above that gets a higher rate of pay. At this time, Arkansas’s labor law has overtime set at one and one half times for any hours worked over 40. This overtime law does not apply to agricultural workers or for employers who have under 4 employees working for them. 

Another of the many labor laws in this state is the Equal Pay Act. It doesn’t allow employers to pay a woman less than a man for comparable work. This law doesn’t change the various pay rates because of seniority or experience, though. 

There are many other AR Labor Laws! You can find them on the many Arkansas Labor Law posters. Or you can find the Arkansas state labor law posters as well as several required federal labor law posters on one convenient Arkansas Complete Labor Law Poster.