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Trade Adjustment Assistance


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The Trade Act programs, Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA), assist individuals who have become unemployed as a result of increased imports from, or shifts in production to, foreign countries. The goal of the Trade Act programs is to help trade-affected workers return to suitable employment as quickly as possible. To facilitate this goal, TAA certified workers may access a menu of services that include income support, relocation allowances, job search allowances, and a health coverage tax credit (HCTC). TAA participants that require retraining in order to obtain suitable employment may receive occupational training.

In addition, the RTAA program for workers 50 years and older provides an alternative to the benefits offered under the regular TAA program. Participation in RTAA allows older workers, for whom retraining may not be suitable, to accept reemployment at a lower wage and receive a wage subsidy. When a petition is certified, both of these benefits will be available to those workers under the petition.

Individuals may be eligible for Trade Readjustment Assistance (TRA) payments, which are additional weekly dollars issued after the Unemployment Insurance weekly benefits are exhausted. TRA benefits are not payable to workers participating in on-the-job training. TRA benefits are defined in three (3) categories: Basic TRA, Additional TRA, and Remedial TRA. Each category has its own set of eligibility requirements. (found in Section 4)

Requirements for RTAA

Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) is an alternative assistance program for workers 50 years old or older certified eligible for trade adjustment assistance. There are no requirements for group certification specifically for RTAA. All certifications include eligibility to apply for RTAA, as well as other TAA benefits.

Requirements for TAA

Petitions for TAA must satisfy three criteria as outlined in TEGL 22-08 A-4 – A-7.
 
  1. The first criteria is a significant number or proportion of the workers in the workers’ firm, must have become totally or partially separated or be threatened with total or partial separation.
  2. The second criterion that must be satisfied is that the increase in imports or shift/acquisition must have contributed importantly to the workers’ separation or threat of separation.
  3. Also qualified for certification are secondarily affected workers including downstream producers. Please look to TEGL 22-08 A-8 for a full description.

Where to Obtain a TAA Petition

The petition for TAA is available through the Dislocated Worker Unit / Administrative Trade Unit in Lincoln, or directly at the Federal Employment and Training Administration website http://www.doleta.gov/tradeact/.

Application Process Overview

Petitions may be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor's Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance (DTAA) requesting certification as workers adversely affected by foreign trade. These petitions may be filed by:
 
  • a group of three or more workers
  • a company official
  • One-Stop operators or partners (including state employment security agencies and dislocated worker units)
  • or by a union or other duly authorized representative of such workers.

The workers on whose behalf a petition is filed must be, or have been, employed at the firm or subdivision identified in the petition. After receiving a TAA petition, the Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance (DTAA) investigators analyze facts contributing to the workers' layoffs or work reductions in order to determine eligibility. If the worker group meets the necessary group eligibility criteria, a certification will be issued.

Assistance in Preparing & Submitting a Petition

The State will assist petitioners in completing and filing petitions. Upon receiving a petition the State must immediately transmit the petition by facsimile or other electronic means to the U.S. Department of Labor. The State shall also assist the Secretary of Labor in the review of the petition by verifying information and providing other assistance that may be requested.

The TAA petition may be filed with the U.S. Secretary of Labor. U.S. Department of Labor:

Employment and Training Administration
Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Room C-5311
Washington, D.C. 20210

Or the petition may be filed through the state Department of Labor.

Nebraska Department of Labor
Reemployment Services
Trade Coordinator
550 South 16th Street
P.O. Box 94600
Lincoln, NE 68509-4600

What Workers are Covered by the Petition?

A completed petition describes a group of workers working at a specific location, for a specific company, producing a specific product or group of products. If the group of workers described in the petition is certified the U.S. Department of Labor will determine the specific product or group of products that are impacted.

Decisions on TAA Petitions

Generally, 40 days after receiving a petition, the Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance (DTAA) will make a final determination on whether or not the eligibility requirements have been met.

Notification of Certification or Denial

The DTAA will notify petitioners, the State Department of Labor, and a company official of its determination. If the petition is certified, the state will notify the individual workers in the group. Workers who are certified by DTAA may then apply for individual reemployment services and benefits under TAA that will help them obtain suitable employment. In order to receive benefits for RTAA, workers must also meet individual criteria. Certified workers apply for individual services and benefits through their local One-Stop Career Centers.

Workers Covered by the Certification

Generally, the certification covers all members of the worker group who are laid off during the three-year period beginning one year before the petition was filed and ending two years after the date of the certification. Each certification specifies the beginning and ending dates. These dates are essential in determining who is eligible for services under the certification.

Denied Petitions

If the eligibility requirements are not met, the DTAA will issue the worker group a "Negative Determination". A negative determination denies workers the eligibility to apply for TAA.

Workers Denied Certification

Workers who are denied certification may:
 
  • Request administrative reconsideration of their petition;
  • appeal the denial; and/or
  • apply for reemployment services from other programs such as those available through the Workforce Investment Act’s Dislocated Worker program also available through local One-Stop Career Centers.

How to Challenge a Petition Denial

Administrative Reconsideration

Determinations on Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) petitions are published in the Federal Register, the official daily publication for Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices of Federal organizations. Workers who are denied certification may request administrative reconsideration by the DOL. Requests for reconsideration must: 1) be in writing; 2) include the TAA investigation number; 3) be signed; and 4) describe the group of workers included in the petition. Requests must also cite reasons why the workers consider the denial erroneous according to the facts, the interpretation of the facts, or the law itself. Reconsideration requests must be mailed to the DTAA within 30 days of Federal Register publication.
 

United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance Room C-5311
200 Constitution Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20210
Phone: 202-693-3560
Fax: 202-693-3584 or 3585
Website: http://www.doleta.gov/tradeact

Judicial Review

Workers who are denied certification may seek judicial review of the DOL's initial petition denial or denial following administrative reconsideration. Appeals for judicial review must be filed with the Office of the Clerk, U.S. Court of International Trade, One Federal Plaza, New York, New York 10007, 212-264-2814. Appeals must be mailed within 60 days of Federal Register publication of the initial denial or administrative reconsideration denial.

Denial of Benefits or Services for an Individual

All TAA services and benefits have different deadlines and individual eligibility criteria. Certified workers must meet the criteria under each benefit to receive that benefit.
 

When a petition has been certified, but the individual is denied a specific TAA service, such as training, travel, relocation, etc., the individual has the same rights as those provided under the State Unemployment Compensation law. The determination notice received after filing an application explains the appeal rights and time limits for filing an appeal. Whenever someone appeals a decision concerning their TAA benefits, they have a right to be represented by their union, lawyer, or other person to help present the facts.

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