Complaint Forces Reversal of Trump-Vance Administration’s Unlawful Funding Freeze for Vital Senior Employment Program 

Massachusetts – Following a class action complaint, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced it will reverse course and release funds for national nonprofit organizations to execute DOL’s Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) – a more than 60-year old program that provides employment opportunities and job training to older Americans who need a lifeline to get back into the workforce. In response to an arbitrary funding freeze by the Trump-Vance administration, Democracy Forward and Jacobson Lawyers Group PLLC filed a lawsuit — Jones et al v. Department of Labor et al – that sought to restore more than $300 million in grants. 

“This is a huge win for seniors in need and yet another demonstration that, in many cases, when the American people fight back against this administration, it backs down,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Tens of thousands of older Americans were put in jeopardy by the funding freeze on this vital program. Thanks to our brave clients and the work of the Democracy Forward team, we have protected everyone who relies on the Senior Community Service and Employment Program.” 

“The government took these steps only because the brave participants of the SCSEP program refused to stand silently to the side,” said Lynn Eisenberg, partner at Jacobson Lawyers Group. “Because of their suit, tens of thousands of seniors across the country can once again make a living while serving their communities.”

SCSEP was created by Congress in 1965 to provide grants to both states and national nonprofit organizations to help train and offer community-service oriented job experiences for unemployed older Americans seeking to transition back into the workforce. The program has been a lifeline for participants, who gain valuable skills training and experience through part-time, minimum wage work aimed at helping them secure permanent jobs. For the communities where participants work, SCSEP offers a tremendous positive benefit, as participants contribute thousands of work hours to hospitals, schools, local government agencies, senior centers, and other public and nonprofit organizations in positions that might not otherwise exist. 

Though DOL has executed the program for 60 years and Congress has provided ample funding for it, the Trump-Vance administration had inexplicably withheld funding to nonprofit organizations, which administer the vast majority of SCSEP efforts across the nation, imperiling access for tens of thousands of older Americans experiencing vulnerable circumstances and threatening to force many into homelessness and economic hardship. 

The plaintiffs in the case are Vonda Jones, Christina Davies, Rochelle St. John, and Maria Garcia Pagan, older Americans from Georgia, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico respectively who have all directly benefitted from SCSEP.

The legal team at Democracy Forward working on the case includes Steve Bressler and Kali Schellenberg. The legal team at Jacobson Lawyers Group includes Dan Jacobson, Lynn Eisenberg, and Kyla Snow.

Read the full complaint here and the DOL announcement here. 

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.