Moskowitz, Crockett, Edwards Introduce Tax Bill to Incentivize Businesses to Hire Disaster Victims

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), and Congressman Chuck Edwards (NC-11) introduced new legislation, the HIRE CREDIT Act, aimed at easing the difficulties faced by victims of federally-designated disasters who have lost their homes and jobs as a result of the disaster. Specifically, the bill would create a new designated category of a disadvantaged group under the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (“WOTC”) for “displaced disaster victims”—a class of individuals whom we know face significant barriers to employment in the aftermath of federally declared disasters. Businesses that hire individuals who satisfy the requirements of the new designated category will be eligible to receive a tax credit of up to 40% of up to $6,000 of wages paid to this new employee.  

“As Florida’s former emergency management director, I know that one of the biggest challenges faced by communities impacted by hurricanes is finding work when businesses are destroyed or damaged,” said Rep. Moskowitz. “This commonsense legislation will incentivize companies to hire people whose lives have been upended by disasters. The HIRE CREDIT is a necessary step toward helping these communities get back on their feet, and I’m proud to be supporting it with Congresswoman Crockett.” 

“In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, hundreds of thousands of Americans across the Southeast have lost their homes. As a Texan, I have seen first hand that the pain of being forced to flee one’s home during a disaster goes far beyond structural damage. Even those who are lucky enough to be able to rebuild are still forced to find new jobs and scrape out a living for weeks or months in order to be able to purchase necessary and essential goods, such as food, diapers, medicine, and clothing,” said Rep. Crockett. “Our HIRE CREDIT Act addresses this problem by incentivizing businesses to hire these displaced disaster victims whether the employers are located in the disaster area or hundreds of miles away, thereby easing the burden on disaster victims while simultaneously boosting local economies.”

“Hurricane Helene destroyed homes, businesses, and jobs across Western North Carolina. Now, as we look to pick up the pieces, it’s become clear that finding a job to replace the one folks have lost from hurricane damage is historically more difficult to do,” said Congressman Chuck Edwards (NC-11). “The HIRE Credit Act will give employers in our mountains a tax credit to hire dislocated hurricane survivors, giving businesses the federal support they need to hire new staff during this difficult time while keeping our people in our mountains.”

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WHAT THE HIRE CREDIT DOES

Creates a new eligible class of persons “displaced disaster victims” under the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (“WOTC”) for part-time employment by an employer.
WOTC is an established tax credit program that provides employers with a federal tax credit available for hiring and employing certain American job seekers who have consistently faced barriers to employment.
 
To qualify as a “displaced disaster victim” an individual must be certified by the designated local agency as:

• Having a principal residence (as defined in section 1033(h)(4)) in a qualified disaster zone which was rendered uninhabitable as a result of the qualified disaster with respect to such qualified disaster zone,
• Being employed (immediately prior to the incident period with respect to such qualified disaster) at a location in such qualified disaster zone which was rendered inoperable as a result of such qualified disaster, and
• Being in a period of unemployment.  

The term “qualified disaster zones” are areas where:  

• a major disaster was declared by the President, on or after January 1, 2024, under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, and
• was determined by the President, on or after January 1, 2024, to warrant individual or individual and public assistance from the Federal Government under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by reason of the qualified disaster with respect to such disaster area.

Employers will be eligible to receive a tax credit for a certain amount of money based on the wages paid to the employee: 

• Businesses that hire individuals that qualify as “displaced disaster victims” will be eligible to receive a tax credit of up to 40% of up to $6,000 of wages paid to this new employee. 
• When an employer’s business is located outside of a qualified disaster zone but hires a “displaced disaster victims”, the tax credit is limited to wages for part-time displaced disaster victims’ employees (no more than 30 hours/week). 
• The purpose of this provision is to deter disaster victims from permanently moving away/outside of communities that experienced a qualified disaster zone, while incentivizing businesses located within the disaster zone to retain the victims in a full-time capacity.