Opinion ID: 1867569
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: The facts are not disputed. Goodyear employed Reed from March 26, 1987, to January 31, 2004, when she was laid off. On January 29, 2003, the U.S. Department of Labor certified that employees laid off from Goodyear on or after December 18, 2001, would be eligible to apply for benefits under the Trade Act. The U.S. Secretary of Labor appoints individual state agencies to administer the TRA benefits program; in Nebraska, the Secretary of Labor designated Workforce Development as that state agency. Paul Elkins of Workforce Development conceded at the administrative hearing that Reed's separation from employment fell within the certification parameters. Elkins also explained that the Trade Act affirmatively requires his office to send notification letters to those eligible for Trade Act benefits even when the employer does not provide a list of affected employees. Elkins conceded that Goodyear had notified Workforce Development of Reed's separation, but that Reed received no notice. Elkins described this as an oversight. He explained that his office copies and files every notification letter sent to eligible employees and confirmed that the Goodyear file lacked a copy of Reed's notification letter. Reed also confirmed that Workforce Development never sent her information about her rights under the Trade Act. She explained that she had heard from other Goodyear employees that we may be eligible for benefits, but that Goodyear's human resources employee told Reed during her initial meetings about unemployment benefits and that Workforce Development would contact her if she was eligible for other benefits. Reed stated that she did not question the lack of correspondence initially because she knew she had 1 year in which Goodyear could recall her. She also admitted she did not press Workforce Development about further benefits because she experienced a family crisis that occupied much of her time and because the unemployment benefits she received enabled her to cover expenses without worrying about her financial situation right away. In September 2004, Reed's family crisis abated and finances became a concern. She had still not heard from Workforce Development about additional benefits, so she contacted Workforce Development on September 23. After meeting with a Workforce Development employee on October 1, the employee informed Reed that she would have been eligible for TRA benefits but that the deadline to apply had passed. Reed filed a training approval request form, initiating the TRA benefits process. Nonetheless, Workforce Development denied Reed's application for training approval because she had not applied for benefits within the 8/16 week deadline. Elkins explained that under the Trade Act, applicants have 8 weeks after the certification date or 16 weeks after their separation date to apply for benefits. Elkins explained that the only remedy the office has when an employee is overlooked is a 45-day extension for extenuating circumstances, but that Reed first contacted his office in the fall of 2004, which exceeded even the extended deadline. Elkins informed Reed of the appeal process, and Reed initiated this appeal. Reed stated that had she been properly informed, she would have taken the steps to meet the deadlines.