Source: https://www.federalgrantswire.com/trade-adjustment-assistanceworkers.html
Timestamp: 2019-05-22 21:42:06
Document Index: 472059365

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 617', 'art 90', 'arts 617', 'art 90', 'arts 617', 'art 90', 'arts 617', 'art 90', 'art 618']

Trade Adjustment Assistance - Federal Grants Wire
The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers Program is a federal entitlement program that assists workers impacted by foreign trade n. Through the provision of a number of employment-related benefits and services, the TAA Program provides trade-affected workers with opportunities to obtain the support, resources, skills, and credentials they need to return to the workforce in a good job in an in-demand industry. The program services include training, employment and case management services, job search allowances, relocation allowances, wage supplements for workers aged 50 and older, and Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA).
Fiscal Year 2014: Fiscal Year 2012, 2013, and 2014: Budget Performance Information is available at www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/main.htm#budget. Fiscal Year 2015: No Current Data Available Fiscal Year 2016: No Current Data Available
The Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015 (TAARA 2015), title IV of the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-27), was signed into law by President Barack Obama on June 29, 2015.
, Public Law 114-27.
a.Applicant Eligibility (081):
Currently, ETA administers three separate TAA programs (2002 Program, 2009 Program, and 2011/2015 Program) and six distinct participant cohorts resulting from the enactment of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of 2002 (TAARA); Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009 (TGAAA); the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 (TAAEA); and the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015 (TAARA 2015), which restores group eligibility criteria and program benefits to the TAAEA level. The relevant laws governing each cohort, marked by certification numbers and effective dates, are provided in the list below, along with the guidance documents that CSAs must continue to apply.
Law Amending the Trade Act of 1974: TARRA (2002 Amendments)
• Guidance: TEGL No. 11-02 and Changes 1, 2, and 3; TEGL No. 2-03, and Change 1; 20 CFR parts 617 and 618, and 29 CFR part 90.
• Effective Dates of Amendments: Applies to petitions filed between November 4, 2002 and May 18, 2009
Law Amending the Trade Act of 1974: TGAAA (2009 Amendments)
•Guidance: TEGL No. 22-08 and Change 1; Omnibus Trade Act; and 20 CFR parts 617 and 618, and 29 CFR part 90.
•Effective Dates of Amendments: Applies to petitions filed between May 18, 2009 and February 14, 2011
Law Amending the Trade Act of 1974: TAARA (2002 Amendments under TGAAA sunset provisions) -or- TAAEA (2011 Amendments)
•Guidance: These workers are subject to either (I) or (IV), as described in TEGL No. 10-11, and its Changes 1 and 2
•Effective Dates of Amendments: Applies to petitions filed between February 12, 2011 and October 20, 2011
Law Amending the Trade Act of 1974: TAAEA (2011 Amendments)
•Guidance: TEGL No. 10-11, and Changes 1, and 2; and 20 CFR parts 617 and 618 and 29 CFR part 90.
•Effective Dates of Amendments: Applies to petitions filed between October 21, 2011 and December 31, 2013
Law Amending the Trade Act of 1974: Reversion 2014 (2002 Amendments under TAAEA sunset provisions)
•Guidance: TEGL No. 7-13; and 20 CFR parts 617 and 618, and 29 CFR part 90.
•Effective Dates of Amendments: Applies to petitions filed between January 1, 2014 and June 29, 2015
Law Amending the Trade Act of 1974: TAARA 2015 (2015 Amendments)
•Guidance: (restore group eligibility and program benefits to the 2011 Amendment level, retroactive from January 1, 2014. Enacted on June 29, 2015 – Operating Instructions are pending.
•Effective Dates of Amendments: Applies to petitions filed on or after June 29, 2015
The TAARA 2015 maintains the expansions to the program made by the TAAEA, which were not operational under the TAAEA sunset provisions (the Reversion 2014 Program) : and provide TAA coverage to more workers and firms, including workers and firms in the service sector; made benefits available to workers whose jobs have been off-shored to any country (as opposed to covering a more limited set of shifts in production), improved workers’ training options, and increased the affordability of health insurance coverage (the Health Coverage Tax Credit). TAARA 2015 maintains the TAAEA's expansion in the scope of the program to better assist adversely affected workers in finding new employment. It reauthorizes funding for employment and case management services, and encourages the type of long-term training necessary for jobs in the 21st century economy through an extension of income support, and access to training for adversely affected incumbent workers.
b.Applicant Eligibility (081)
Under TARRA 2015, the more expansive TAAEA Group Eligibility requirements, including petition investigation criteria, apply to petitions filed on or after June 29, 2015, and retroactively apply to all petitions filed between January 1, 2014, and June 29, 2015.
For a worker to be eligible to apply for TAA, the worker must be part of a group of workers that are the subject of a petition filed with the Department. Three workers of a company, a company official, a union or other duly authorized representative, or an AJC operator or partner may file that petition with the Department. In response to the filing, the Department initiates an investigation to determine whether foreign trade was an important cause of the workers’ job loss or threat of job loss. If the Department determines that the workers meet the statutory criteria for group certification of eligibility for the workers in the group to apply for TAA, the Department grants the petition and issues a certification.
Once covered by a certification, individual workers apply for benefits and services through the AJCs. Most benefits and services have specific individual eligibility criteria that must be met, such as previous work history, unemployment insurance eligibility, and individual skill levels.
The TAA program currently offers the following benefits and services to eligible individuals: training, weekly income support in the form of TRA, out-of-area job search and relocation allowances, case management and employment services, and wage supplement for qualified older workers through RTAA.
2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-110.
To apply for TAA under the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, a "Petition for Trade Adjustment Assistance" must be filed directly with the Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance at the address listed below and with the State official or organization designated by the Governor of the State in which the workers' firm or subdivision is located. OTAA and State contact information, as well as petition forms in English and Spanish, are available through the State Workforce Agencies or from the Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance listed below. The petition forms may also be downloaded from the TAA web-site, or filed online, at: http:www.doleta.gov/tradeact.
Petitions must be filed with both the OTAA and the State agency in which the worker group's facility is located. 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.
A Certification of Eligibility to apply for worker adjustment assistance may be issued by the Secretary of 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 and services.
From 30 to 60 days. For the TAA program, eligibility investigations begin with the receipt of a valid petition are completed, and a determination issued, within 40 calendar days of the receipt of the petition.
From 30 to 60 days. 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 Director of the Office 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.
State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) serve as agents of the United States and administer the worker adjustment assistance benefit provisions of the Trade Act. SWAs, through their American Job Centers (AJC), formerly known as One-Stop Career Centers or by a different name, and other local offices, provide assessments, employment counseling, and job placement services; job search and relocation assistance; and training.
The weekly subsistence payments and wage supplements of TRA and A/RTAA are administered under the Unemployment Insurance program (see CFDA 17.225). 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.
Quarterly Performance Reports are required. No cash reports are required. No progress reports are required. Quarterly financial reports on grants for administration of TAA/TRA program are required. Program performance is monitored both by state staff and by Federal Regional Office staff.
Cash trade readjustment allowances (TRA) generally become payable only after workers have exhausted their entitlement to State unemployment compensation including extended benefits.
For TAA certifications of petitions filed between May 18, 2009 and February 15, 2011, the maximum number of weeks of State unemployment compensation, extended benefits and trade readjustment allowances cannot exceed 52 weeks except that up to 78 additional weeks may be paid to workers while participating in approved training and an additional 26 weeks for workers whose approved training program includes pre-requisite and/or remedial education. Participation in RTAA allows older workers to accept reemployment at a lower wage and receive a wage subsidy instead of benefits under the regular TAA program. The RTAA allows for payments of 50 percent of the wage difference between old employment and new employment, not to exceed $12,000 for up to two years. The individual must earn not more than $55,000 a year in wages in reemployment, and must not return to employment from which the worker was separated. Base formula funding grants for training services are provided to States at the beginning of the year; additional funds may be requested by States based on additional needs above the base funding provided.
For TAA certifications of petitions filed before May 18, 2009, and after February 12, 2011 through October 21, 2011, the maximum number of weeks of State unemployment compensation, extended benefits and trade readjustment allowances cannot exceed 52 weeks except that up to 52 additional weeks may be paid to workers while participating in approved training and an additional 26 weeks for workers whose approved training program includes remedial education. Participation in ATAA allows older workers, for whom retraining may not be appropriate, to accept reemployment at a lower wage and receive a wage subsidy instead of benefits under the regular TAA program. The ATAA allows for payments of 50 percent of the wage difference between old employment and new employment, not to exceed $10,000 for up to two years. The individual must earn not more than $50,000 a year in wages in reemployment, and must not return to employment from which the worker was separated. Base formula funding grants for training services are provided to States at the beginning of the year; additional funds may be requested by States based on additional needs above the base funding provided.
For TAA certifications of petitions filed between October 21, 2011 and through December 31, 2013, the maximum number of weeks of State unemployment compensation, extended benefits and trade readjustment allowances cannot exceed 52 weeks except that up to 65 additional weeks may be paid to workers while participating in approved training and an additional 13 weeks for workers who are pursuing a degree or industry recognized credential, continue to make satisfactory progress and meeting the training benchmarks, and will complete the training within the period of eligibility. Participation in RTAA allows older workers to accept reemployment at a lower wage and receive a wage subsidy instead of benefits under the regular TAA program. The RTAA allows for payments of 50 percent of the wage difference between old employment and new employment, not to exceed $10,000 for up to two years. The individual must earn not more than $50,000 a year in wages in reemployment, and must not return to employment from which the worker was separated.
For TAA certifications of petitions filed after January 1, 2014, the maximum number of weeks of State unemployment compensation, extended benefits and trade readjustment allowances cannot exceed 52 weeks except that up to 65 weeks of additional weeks may be paid to workers while participating in approved training and an additional 13 weeks for workers who are pursuing a degree or industry recognized credential, continue to make satisfactory progress and meeting the training benchmarks, and will complete the training within the period of eligibility. Participation in RTAA allows workers age 50 and older, for whom retraining may not be appropriate, to accept reemployment at a lower wage and receive a wage subsidy instead of benefits under the regular TAA program. The RTAA allow for payments of 50 percent of the wage difference between old employment and new employment, not to exceed $10,000 for up to two years. The individual must earn not more than $50,000 a year in wages in reemployment, and must not return to employment from which the worker was separated.
Base formula funding grants for training services are provided to States at the beginning of the year; additional funds may be requested by States based on additional needs above the base funding provided. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: lump sum.
See Regional Agency Offices. See Regional Agency Offices. Regional offices of the Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor listed in Appendix IV, and local offices of affiliated State Employment Security Agencies.
Erica Herrmann 200 Constitution Ave N.W., Washington, District of Columbia 20210 Phone: 2026933628
16-0326-0-1-999.
(Formula Grants) FY 14 $306,268,000; FY 15 est $235,700,000; and FY 16 est $450,000,000 - (Formula Grants) National Amounts of Funds Obligated to Carry Out Training and Other Activities for the TAA Program, subject to the funding formula provided at 20 CFR Part 618, Subpart I, Section 618.910 to calculate state amounts.
•FY 2013 $534,400,000;
•FY 2014 $306,268,000;
•FY 2015 $235,700,000
•FY 2016 $450,000,000 (pre-sequestration).
This amount is published yearly in the Report to the Committee on Finance of the Senate and Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, which can be found on the program website at www.doleta.gov/tradeact.
Regulations at 29 CFR 90, Certification of Eligibility to Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance, 20 CFR 617, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers, and 20 CFR 618.900- 618.930, Regulations Regarding TAA Funding.