Trade Adjustment Assistance_Workers
Published on AidPage by IDILOGIC on Jun 24, 2005
Purpose of this program:
To provide adjustment assistance to workers adversely affected by increased imports which will assist them into suitable employment.
Possible uses and use restrictions...
State Workforce Agencies (SWAs)serve as agents of the United States for administering the worker adjustment assistance benefit provisions of the Trade Act. SWAs, through the local offices, provide testing, counseling, and job placement services; job search and relocation assistance; training; and payment of weekly trade readjustment allowances (TRA). State unemployment compensation and extended benefits must be exhausted before TRA is paid to eligible claimants. Trade impacted workers are eligible to receive job search and relocation allowances in addition to the costs of training. They may be paid subsistence and transportation allowances to attend approved training outside the normal commuting distance of a worker's regular place of residence.
Who is eligible to apply...
I. A petition may be filed by a group of adversely affected workers and be signed by at least three workers; alternatively, a petition may be filed by a company official, union representative, or other authorized representatives, requiring only one signature. Once signed, petitions must be filed with both the DTAA and the State TAA Coordinator or Dislocated Worker Unit relevant to the worker group's plant location Notice of such filing shall be promptly published in the Federal Register. Within 10 days after publication, the petitioner or any other person found by the Secretary to have a substantial interest may request a hearing and be afforded the opportunity to be present, to present evidence, and to be heard. After receiving a TAA petition, DTAA invstigators will establish if the workers' company prodces a product and that a required minimum of the workforce has been laid off in the 12 months preceding the date of the petition or is threatened with layoffs (3 workers in groups of fewere than 50, 5% of the workforce in groups of 50 or more, or at least 50 workers in groups of 1000 or more). Additionally, DTAA will analyze facts contributing to the workers' layoffs or work reductions in order to determine one of the following sets of conditions have been met: (1)Increased imports contributed importantly to an actual decline in sales or production, and to a layoff or threat of a layoff; or (2)There has been a shift in production to certain countries which contributed to a layoff or threat of a layoff; or (3) there has been a shift in production outside of the United States and there has been or isliely to be an increase in the import of like or similar articles; or(4)loss of business as a supplier of component parts,a final assembler, or a finisher for a TAA certified firm contributed importantly to an actual decline in sales or production, and to a layoff or threat of a layoff. If one of the above requirements is met, the Secretary issues a certification of eligiblity to apply for Individual Eligibility. A TAA beneficiary must:1) be found by the Labor Department to have been adversely affected by increased imports, 2) be certified by the Secretary of Labor as eligible to apply for adjustment assistance and 3) meet the following individual requirements: 1)his or her unemployment or underemployment must have begun on or after the impact date specified in the Secretary's certification as the beginning of the import-impacted unemployment or underemployment; 2) his or her unemployment must begin before the expiration of the 2-year period beinning on the date on which the Secretary issued the certification for his or her group or before the termination date, if any, specified in the certification. In addition, to be eligible for the weekly trade readjustment allowance (TRA) payments he or she must: 1) have been employed with wages at a minmum of $30 per week by the import-affected firm for at least 26 of the previous 52 weeks including the week of total layoff (up to 7 weeks of employer-authorized leave may be counted as qualifying weeks of employment or up to 26 weeks of disability compensation): and 2)be enrolled in or have completed an approved job training program, unless the determination is made that training is either not feasible or not appropriate, in which case a waiver of the training requirement may be issued. II. Individual eligibility requirements for NAFTA-TAA are similar to the TAA requirements described, except that when authorized payment of TRA, the State cannot issue a waiver of the training requirement if the State finds that training is not feasible or appropriate. To receive TRA, the claimant must be enrolled in an approved training program within 8 weeks of the Secretary's issuance of the certification or within 16 weeks of the worker's most recent qualifying separation, whichever is later.
Credentials/Documentation
None.
Note:This is a brief description of the credentials or documentation required prior to, or along with, an application for assistance.
About this section:
This section indicates who can apply to the Federal government for assistance and the criteria the potential applicant must satisfy.
For example, individuals may be eligible for research grants, and the criteria to be satisfied may be that they have a professional or scientific degree,
3 years of research experience, and be a citizen of the United States. Universities, medical schools, hospitals, or State and local governments may also be eligible.
Where State governments are eligible, the type of State agency will be indicated (State welfare agency or State agency on aging) and the criteria that they
must satisfy.
Certain federal programs (e.g., the Pell Grant program which provides grants to students) involve intermediate levels of application processing, i.e., applications
are transmitted through colleges or universities that are neither the direct applicant nor the ultimate beneficiary. For these programs,
the criteria that the intermediaries must satisfy are also indicated, along with intermediaries who are not eligible.
How to apply...
Application Procedure:
To apply for TAA under the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, a "Petition for Trade Adjustment Assistance" must be filed directly with the Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance at the address listed below and with the State official or organizaton designated by the Governor of the State in which the workers' firmor subdivison is located. DTAA and State contact information, as well as petition forms in English and Spanish, are available trough the State Workforce Agencies or from the Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance listed below. The Petitionforms may also be downloaded from our web-site at: http:www.soleta.gov/tradeact.
Note: Each program will indicate whether applications are to be submitted to the Federal headquarters, regional or local office, or to a State or local government office.
Award Procedure:
A Certification of Eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance may be issued by the Secretary if Labor to groups of workers who have been found,by the Department of Labor, to have met the requirements concerning foreign trade-affected separations from employment, Individual workers covered by the certification can apply to the local office of their State Workforce Agency for individual determinations of eligibility to receive benefits.
Note: Grant payments may be made by a letter of credit, advance by Treasury check, or reimbursement by Treasury check.
Awards may be made by the headquarters office directly to the applicant, an agency field office, a regional office,
or by an authorized county office. The assistance may pass through the initial applicant for further distribution by
intermediate level applicants to groups or individuals in the private sector.
Deadlines and process...
Deadlines
None. This program is excluded from coverage under E. O. 12372.
Note:
When available, this section indicates the deadlines for applications to the funding agency which will
be stated in terms of the date(s) or between what dates the application should be received.
When not available, applicants should contact the funding agency for deadline information.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
I. For the regular TAA program, eligibility investigations begun by the receipt of a valid petition are completed, and a determination issued, within 60 calendar days of the receipt of the petition. II. For NAFTA-TAA, the determination is issued within 40 days after receipt of the petition by the Governor's agent: 10 days for processing by the State and an additional 30 days for the Department of Labor.
Preapplication Coordination
None. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Note:
This section indicates whether any prior coordination or approval is required with governmental or nongovernmental units
prior to the submission of a formal application to the federal funding agency.
Appeals
There are two courses of appeal, one administrative and the other judicial. Petitioners aggrieved by a final determination by the Secretary may, within 30 days after notice of such determination is published in the Federal Register, file an application for reconsideration with the Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance. If the determination following reconsideration is negative, they may, within 60 days after notice of the negative determination upon reconsideration, file a petition for review of such determination with the United States Court of International Trade in New York City. Aggrieved petitioners may request judicial appeal without first seeking administrative reconsideration, within 60 days after notice of such determination is published in the Federal Register.
Note:
In some cases, there are no provisions for appeal. Where applicable, this section discusses appeal procedures or allowable rework time for resubmission
of applications to be processed by the funding agency. Appeal procedures vary with individual programs and are either listed in this section or
applicants are referred to appeal procedures documented in the relevant Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Renewals
None.
Note:
In some instances, renewal procedures may be the same as for the application procedure, e.g., for projects of a non-continuing nature renewals will be treated as new, competing applications; for projects of an ongoing nature, renewals may be given annually.
Who can benefit...
A TAA beneficiary must: 1) be found by the Labor Department to have been adversely affected by increased imports, 2) be certified by the Secretary of Labor as eligible to apply for adjustment assistance, and 3) meet the following individual requirements: 1) his or her unemployment or underemployment must have begun on or after the impact date specified in the Secretary's certification as the beginning of the import-impacted unemployment or underemployment; 2) his or her unemployment must begin before the expiration of the 2-year period beginning on the date on which the Secretary issued the certification for his or her group or before the termination date, if any, specified in the certification. In addition, to be eligible for weekly trade readjustment allowance (TRA) payments her or she must: 1) have been employed with wages at a minimum of $30 per week by the import-affected firm for a least 26 of the previous 52 weeks including the week of total layoff (up to 7 weeks of employer- authorized leave may be counted as qualifying weeks of employment or up to 26 weeks of disability compensation); and 2) be enrolled in or have completed an approved job training program, unless the determination is made that training is either not feasible or not appropriate, in which case a waiver of the training requirement may be issued. II. Individual eligibility requirements for NAFTA-TAA are similar to the TAA requirements described, except that when authorized payment of TRA, the State cannot issue a waiver of the training requirement if the State finds that training is not feasible or appropriate. To receive TRA, the claimant must be enrolled in an approved training program within 6 weeks of the Secretary's issuance of the certification or within 16 weeks of the worker's most recent qualifying separation, whichever is later.
Beneficiaries
About this section:
This section lists the ultimate beneficiaries of a program, the criteria they must satisfy and who specifically is not eligible. The applicant and beneficiary will generally be the same for programs that provide assistance directly from a Federal agency. However, financial assistance that passes through State or local governments will have different applicants and beneficiaries since the assistance is transmitted to private sector beneficiaries who are not obligated to request or apply for the assistance.
What types of assistance...
Direct Payments with Unrestricted Use
Financial assistance from the Federal government provided directly to beneficiaries who satisfy Federal eligibility requirements with no restrictions being imposed on the recipient as to how the money is spent. Included are payments under retirement, pension, and compensatory programs.
Provision of Specialized Services
Programs which provide Federal personnel directly to perform certain tasks for the benefit of communities or individuals. These services may be performed in conjunction with nonfederal personnel, but they involve more than consultation, advice, or counseling.
How much financial aid...
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
Weekly allowance payments are the same as the amount of weekly State unemployment compensation.
Note:
This section lists the representative range (smallest to largest) of the amount of financial assistance available. These figures are based upon funds awarded in the past fiscal year and the current fiscal year to date. Also indicated is an approximate average amount of awards which were made in the past and current fiscal years.
Obligations
(TRA Payments) FY 03 $347,215,003; FY 04 est $513,000,000; and FY 05 est $750,000,000. (Reemployment Services-- training, job search and relocation obligation and related administrative costs): FY 03 $222,050,000; FY 04 est $258,200,000; and FY 05 est $259,300,000.
Note:
The dollar amounts listed in this section represent obligations for the past fiscal year (PY), estimates for the current fiscal year (CY), and estimates for the budget fiscal year (BY) as reported by the Federal agencies. Obligations for non-financial assistance programs indicate the administrative expenses involved in the operation of a program.
Account Identification
16-0326-0-1-999.
Note:
Note: This 11-digit budget account identification code represents the account which funds a particular program.
This code should be consistent with the code given for the program area as specified in Appendix III of the Budget of the United States Government.
Examples of funded projects...
Not applicable.
About this section
This section indicates the different types of projects which have been funded in the past. Only projects funded under Project Grants or Direct Payments for Specified Use should be listed here. The examples give potential applicants an idea of the types of projects that may be accepted for funding. The agency should list at least five examples of the most recently funded projects.
Program accomplishments...
From April 1975 through September 2004, the Department of Labor issued certifications in 28,399 cases involving 3,781,126 workers. (These figures are continuously revised to account for actual experience and include both TAA and NAFTA-TAA.)
Criteria for selecting proposals...
Not applicable.
Assistance considerations...
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Cash trade readjustment allowances (TRA) become payable only after workers have exhausted their entitlement to State unemployment compensation including extended benefits. The maximum number of weeks of State unemployment compensation, extended benefits and trade readjustment allowances cannot exceed 52 weeks except that up to 26 additional weeks may be paid to workers while participating in approved training.
Formula and Matching Requirements
Not applicable.
Note:
A formula may be based on population, per capita income, and other statistical factors. Applicants are informed whether there are any matching requirements to be met when participating in the cost of a project. In general, the matching share represents that portion of the project costs not borne by the Federal government. Attachment F of OMB Circular No. A-102 (Office of Management and Budget) sets forth the criteria and procedures for the evaluation of matching share requirements which may be cash or in-kind contributions made by State and local governments or other agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals to satisfy matching requirements of Federal grants or loans.
Cash contributions represent the grantees' cash outlay, including the outlay of money contributed to the grantee by other public agencies, institutions, private organizations, or individuals. When authorized by Federal regulation, Federal funds received from other grants may be considered as the grantees' cash contribution.
In-kind contributions represent the value of noncash contributions provided by the grantee, other public agencies and institutions, private organizations or individuals. In-kind contributions may consist of charges for real property and equipment, and value of goods and services directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the grant program. When authorized by Federal legislation, property purchased with Federal funds may be considered as grantees' in-kind contribution.
Maintenance of effort (MOE) is a requirement contained in certain legislation, regulations, or administrative policies stating that a grantee must maintain a specified level of financial effort in a specific area in order to receive Federal grant funds, and that the Federal grant funds may be used only to supplement, not supplant, the level of grantee funds.
Post assistance requirements...
Reports
Not applicable.
Note:
This section indicates whether program reports, expenditure reports, cash reports or performance monitoring are required by the Federal funding agency, and specifies at what time intervals (monthly, annually, etc.) this must be accomplished.
Audits
Not applicable.
Note:
This section discusses audits required by the Federal agency.
The procedures and requirements for State and local governments and nonprofit entities are set forth in OMB Circular No. A-133.
These requirements pertain to awards made within the respective State's fiscal year - not the Federal fiscal year,
as some State and local governments may use the calendar year or other variation of time span designated as the fiscal year period,
rather than that commonly known as the Federal fiscal year (from October 1st through September 30th).
Records
Not applicable.
Note:
This section indicates the record retention requirements and the type of records the Federal agency may require.
Not included are the normally imposed requirements of the General Accounting Office.
For programs falling under the purview of OMB Circular No. A-102, record retention is set forth in Attachment C.
For other programs, record retention is governed by the funding agency's requirements.
Regulations...
Authorization
Trade Act of 1974, Title II, Public Law 93-618, 88 Stat. 1979, 19 U.S.C. 2271-2322, as amended; Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, Title XXV, Public Law 97-35, as amended; Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1983, Public Law 97-362, as amended; Amendment to the International Coffee Agreement Act of 1980, Public Law 98-120, as amended; Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, Public Law 98-369, as amended, Public Law 99-190; Third Continuing Resolution for Fiscal Year 1986 Funds, as amended; Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, Title XIII, Public Law 99-272; Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, Title I, Public Law 100-418; North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, Title V, Public Law 103-182; Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2000, Public Law 106-113; Trade Act of 2002, Title I-II, Public Law 107-210.
Note:
This section lists the legal authority upon which a program is based (acts, amendments to acts, Public Law numbers, titles, sections, Statute Codes, citations to the U.S. Code, Executive Orders, Presidential Reorganization Plans, and Memoranda from an agency head).
Regulations, Guidelines, And Literature
Regulations at 29 CFR 90, Certification of Eligibility to Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance, and 20 CFR 617, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers.
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