The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the award of approximately $2,500,000 million in grants through the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) that incentivizes workplace diversity and facilitates access to good jobs for American workers.
The grants will help state workforce agencies streamline their business processes and systems to reduce the processing backlog, including the number of accumulated certification requests that employers have submitted and await processing.
“The U.S. Department of Labor is committed to helping states that are in need of upgrading their Work Opportunity Tax Credit processing systems or conducting other activities to reduce their backlogs to ensure U.S. employers can benefit from the Federal tax credit,” said Assistant Secretary of the Employment & Training Administration John Pallasch.
Texas currently has the most pending requests at 207,463, and California is a close second with 174,894. Kentucky, New York, Iowa, Connecticut, Kansas and Virginia still have over 100,000 requests pending for 2019 (WOTC Statistics).
ETA will award WOTC grants to the following states, which are experiencing significant processing backlogs:
| Grant Recipient | Amount |
| California | $325,000 |
| Indiana | $325,000 |
| New Jersey | $325,000 |
| New York | $325,000 |
| Connecticut | $200,000 |
| Kansas | $200,000 |
| North Carolina | $200,000 |
| Virginia | $200,000 |
| Alaska | $100,000 |
| Delaware | $100,000 |
| Idaho | $100,000 |
| Wyoming | $100,000 |
The Department and the IRS jointly administer the WOTC program implementation. State workforce agencies administer the certification process, ensuring that individuals hired by employers meet the qualifications of the claimed targeted group. The IRS administers all tax-related provisions and requirements.
About the Work Opportunity Tax Credit
WOTC is a Federal tax credit available to employers for hiring individuals from certain targeted groups – including qualified veterans, ex-felons, qualified long-term unemployment recipients and individuals who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits – who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment.
About Our WOTC Screening Services
- Why you should use CMS’s WOTC Tax Screening Service rather than doing it yourself.
- Get an idea of how much you could be saving by utilizing the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for your company, try our WOTC Calculator.
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Additional Reading: Change 1 to Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 13-19, Work Opportunity Tax Credit Funding Allotments for Fiscal Year 2020 (DOL website)