Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) under the Trade act of 1974, the North
American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (NAFTA) and the Trade reform
Act of 2002 are national legislation providing benefits for workers who lose
their jobs, or whose hours of work and wages are reduced as a result of
increased imports, or whose jobs were exported offshore (“trade-affected
workers”). The TAA benefits include a variety of reemployment services designed
to help trade-affected workers prepare for and obtain suitable employment.
Workers may be eligible for training, a job search allowance, a relocation
allowance, health coverage tax credit, alternative trade adjustment assistance
for workers over the age of fifty, and other reemployment services.
Additionally, weekly Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA) may be payable to
eligible workers following the exhaustion of unemployment benefits. Usually, TRA
will be paid only if an individual is enrolled in a TAA-approved training
program.
The TAA Program is administered by the
Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor. The
States serve as agents to the Labor Department in administering the TAA program.
The eligibility process is initiated by the filing of a petition for
determination that the company’s lay offs were trade-affected. Once the
investigation is concluded granting certification of the company, each
individual worker must also apply for eligibility based on length of employment
in trade-affected units within the company.
A petition must be filed both with the Office of the Colorado TAA Coordinator
and the Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance to establish group eligibility to
apply for TAA.
A petition should be filed if your employer:
has or will shift production to a foreign country
is or will import products made in a foreign country
is losing, or has lost sales to customers importing products from another country
is losing or has lost business as a supplier, finisher, or assembler of
products or components for a company that is already certified as trade-affected.
Petitions may be filed by a company representative, a group of three or more
workers, their union, or by an authorized representative. A TAA Counselor or WIA
Counselor at your Colorado
Workforce Center can also file on your behalf.
Petitions can also be obtained from the Employment and Training Administration:
Charlotte Edelen
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
Office of Adult Services
Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance
200 Constitution Ave., N.W. , Room C-5311
Washington, D.C. 20210
Phone #: (202) 693-3564
OTAA Fax #: (202) 693-3584 or (202) 693-3585
Main OTAA Phone #: (202) 693-3560
Upon receiving a petition, a fact-finding investigation is initiated to
determine whether increased imports contributed significantly to decreased sales
and production and to worker separations in a particular company or subdivision.
If increased imports contributed significantly to job reductions in your company
or subdivision, the Labor Department certifies the affected group of workers as
eligible to apply for TAA. The certification will contain an "Impact Date",
which is a date of up to one year prior to the date of the petition. Workers who
are separated on or after the impact date and who are covered by a certification
are eligible for TAA benefits. The life of the certification is 2 years from the
date of issuance unless terminated earlier, and workers who are separated within
the period of certification are eligible to apply for individual TAA benefits.
Once your employer has been certified, you should receive a letter from the
Colorado TRA Coordinator. Whether or not you receive a letter, if you know your
company is certified, contact the TAA counselor at your local
Colorado Workforce Center
to request a determination of your individual eligibility for Trade Readjustment
Allowances (TRA) and for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits. Your TAA
counselor will submit your request for you. Later, you will receive a
"Determination of Entitlement to Trade Adjustment Assistance/ Trade Readjustment
Assistance" by mail. Once you have received your determination, contact your
local Colorado Workforce
Center TAA counselor to determine what TAA re-employment services you may
need. To be eligible for TAA benefits and reemployment services, you must have
been laid off or put on a reduced work schedule (hours of work reduced to 80
percent or less of your average weekly hours and wages reduced to 80 percent or
less or your average weekly wage) on or after the impact date and before the
ending date of certification. To be eligible for TRA, you must have worked at
least 26 weeks at your certified employer during the year prior to your
separation. Even if you are not eligible to receive TRA, if you have a
qualifying separation, you will be eligible to apply for other TAA Benefits.
If your Workforce Center Counselor cannot locate suitable employment for you,
retraining to acquire marketable skills may be an option. Approval of training
is subject to the following limitations:
On-the-Job training (OJT) is the preferred method
of retraining, and is approvable if the training meets certain guidelines.
Your Workforce Center Counselor will assist you. For as long as the training
continues, the TAA Program will reimburse your OJT employer up to
50% of your basic starting
full time wage. This may help you get the job over other candidates. The
Program will purchase tools and uniforms for you, if the OJT employer doesn’t
usually furnish these items. Tools purchased by the Program remain the
property of the Division of Employment and Training until your OJT is
completed. Then, ownership will be transferred to you. If you choose
vocational training, your
training must lead to a specific vocational/educational goal (certification,
degree, etc.) and must be conducted on a full-time basis. If approved, the
total cost of your training (including tuition, fees, required books and
tools, and necessary supplies) will be assumed by the TAA Program. Training
will not be approved if you are required to pay any of these costs.
The maximum duration of OJT or vocational training is 104 weeks of
instruction; the number of calendar weeks may be greater for classroom
training, however vocational training will not be approved if it cannot be
completed within 104 weeks of
“in the classroom” time. Up to 26 additional weeks may be approved for
remedial training that prepares you to enter into a vocational training
program.
You must begin your training within
30 days of the date your
training is approved, or obtain a waiver of this requirement.
If you must travel over 50 miles
to attend training, a subsistence allowance to cover the expense of the
commute is available, however such training will not be approved if it is
available closer to your home, or if the cost of the travel makes the cost
unreasonably expensive.
Training at a private school will not be approved, if you can earn the
same credential at a public school. The private school’s curriculum must be
accredited. The private school must also agree to apply for approval as an
Eligible Training Provider. Your Workforce Center Counselor will explain.
If there are no suitable jobs in your area and training would improve your
chances of getting a job, you should discuss your needs with the Colorado
Workforce Center TAA counselor to see if you qualify. You will be advised as to
the employment outlook for workers with different job skills, the kinds of work
best suited to workers with different job skills, the kinds of work best suited
to your aptitudes and interests and the training opportunities that may be
available at no cost to you. Training opportunities include on-the-job,
vocational or technical training, and remedial education. You may receive Trade
Readjustment Allowances (TRA) for up to 78 weeks while you train, as long as you
continue to attend and make satisfactory progress in the training. If the
training facility you attend is beyond normal commuting distance from your home,
you may be paid for some of your transportation costs and living expenses.
The TAA Program will reimburse 90% of the cost of your commute to attend a
scheduled, verified interview with an employer, if the commute exceeds 50
miles. Reimbursable costs include the most reasonable form of transportation,
plus food and lodging.
You may receive allowance for more than one commute, however the total
reimbursement for all trips will not exceed $1,250.00 ($800.00 for petitions
filed before November 4, 2002).
You must apply for your allowance before you leave for your interview, and
within 365 days of your separation (or the date your employer was certified,
if later), or within 182 days of the date you completed TAA-approved training.
Only travel within the United States is authorized.
Subject to limitations below, the TAA Program will reimburse 90% of the
total cost to relocate you, your family and your household, if the commute
from your residence to employment you accepted following your layoff and
determination of entitlement to TAA benefits exceeds 50 miles.
If a commercial transport company is to be used to move your household,
you must obtain estimates from two carriers. Reimbursement will include the
cost of moving a maximum 18,000 pounds of household items.
In addition to reimbursement, you will receive a lump sum allowance of 3
times your weekly salary up to a maximum of $1,250.00 ($800.00 for petitions
filed before November 4, 2002).
You must apply for relocation allowance prior to your move, and within 425
days of your separation (or the date of the TAA certification, if later), or
within 182 days of the date your completed TAA-approved training.
You must complete your move within 182 days of the date you applied for
relocation allowance. Reimbursement will be paid upon completion of the move.
Your application may be approved if it is determined that no suitable work is
available in your home area and that you:
have obtained suitable work of long-term duration or a bona fide offer of
such work in the area within the United States to which you will move.
have not previously received a relocation allowance under the same
certification.
are totally separated from employment at the time of relocation. Partially
separated workers may apply in anticipation of total layoff.
TRA, a weekly allowance payable only after exhaustion of unemployment
insurance (UI) benefits, and subject to other criteria, is
100% of the weekly amount for
the UI claim which covers your separation from trade-affected employment. Your
TRA will also be reduced by any earnings or other income you receive in the same
way that such earnings and income would have reduced your weekly unemployment
benefits. Your TRA will also be reduced by the amount of any other Federal
training allowance you are entitled to for the same week.
The duration of the basic TRA benefit period is
104 weeks, beginning the Sunday
following your separation from trade-affected employment.
The total amount of basic TRA equals
52 times your weekly benefit amount less the total amount of UI for which
you are eligible. For example, if you received 26 weeks of regular unemployment
insurance benefits and 13 weeks of extended benefits, you may receive up to an
amount equal to 13 weeks of TRA.
You must be enrolled in, and scheduled to begin training within
30 days to receive basic TRA;
enrollment must be accomplished by the end of the
16th week following separation
from trade-affected employment, or the
8th week following issuance of the date your employer was certified, if
later.
You are eligible to receive additional TRA following exhaustion of basic TRA
provided you are actively engaged in TAA-approved training following exhaustion
of your basic TRA. Additional TRA is payable for
52 consecutive weeks, or until
completion of TAA-approved training, whichever is sooner. This period can be
extended further, if your training included remedial courses. Consult with your
TAA Counselor.
If you return to work covered by the same certification and are again totally
separated within the certification period, the 104-week eligibility period will
be recalculated beginning the first week after the subsequent separation.
To qualify for TRA you must:
be covered by a certification.
be laid off due to lack of work in adversely affected employment.
be laid off from that employment on or after the impact date and before
the ending date of the certification.
have worked at least 26 weeks at wages of $30 or more per week in
adversely affected employment with a single firm or subdivision in the 52-week
period ending with the week of separation. (Up to 7 weeks of non-work for
specified reasons and up to 26 weeks or workers’ compensation may be counted
toward the 26 weeks.)
have been entitled to and have exhausted all rights to unemployment
insurance benefits.
be enrolled in approved training program:
by the last day of the 16th week of your most recent qualifying
separation or, if later,
by the last day of the 8th week after the week in which your employer is
certified.
In some cases, the training requirement can be waived by the TAA counselor,
if you return to work covered by the same certification and are again totally
separated within the certification period, the 104-week eligibility period will
be recalculated beginning the first week after the subsequent separation.
The first week for which you may be eligible for TRA must begin more than 60
days after the filing date of the petition that was certified by the Labor
Department. If you do not qualify for TRA, you will still be eligible for
reemployment services, training, job search allowance and a relocation allowance
if you are covered by a certification and have a qualifying separation from
adversely affected employment.
You may use this tax credit to pay 65% of your monthly health insurance
premiums for health coverage, leaving 35% of those costs to you.
You may elect, instead to claim 65% of the insurance premiums you paid as
a credit on your income tax return.
You must be a TRA recipient, or be eligible to receive TRA after your UI
is exhausted.
You must either continue your employer insurance under COBRA or purchase a
qualified individual policy within 63 days of your separation from your
trade-affected employment, or you may be subject to additional restrictions.
If you chose to purchase individual insurance, either because none was
offered by your employer or you chose not to participate in your employer’s
plan, the coverage you purchased must have been in place 30 days prior to your
separation to be eligible for the credit.
For more information ask your counselor for the HCTC brochure, or go
online to www.irs.gov and enter “HCTC” in the
search bar; or call HCTC toll free at 1-866-628-4282. TTY/TDD callers call
1-866-626-4282.
