1. To obtain TAA/ATAA reemployment services and benefits, a group of workers must first file a petition with the U.S. Department of Labor's Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance (DTAA) requesting certification as workers adversely affected by foreign trade. If the worker group meets the necessary group eligibility criteria, a certification will be issued.
   
   
2. After a group certification is issued, each worker in the group may then apply for individual services and benefits through their local One-Stop Career Center to determine individual TAA eligibility and ATAA eligibility for services and benefits. Workers age 50 and older may be eligible to receive benefits under either the TAA program or the ATAA program. All other workers may only apply for TAA benefits.

Who may file a petition - A petition may be filed by a group of three or more workers, by a company official, by 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.

Assistance in preparing a petition - Petitioners may request assistance in preparing the petition at their local One-Stop Career Center or by contacting their State Dislocated Worker Unit, Employment Security Agency or the DTAA in Washington, DC. To locate such assistance, workers may call 1-877-US2-JOBS, 1-877-889-5627(TTY), or visit the America's Service Locator Web site at: http://www.servicelocator.org.

Submitting a Petition - Once completed, petitions must be signed. Petitions filed by a group of adversely affected workers must be signed by at least three workers; petitions filed by any other authorized representatives require only one signature. Once signed, petitions must be filed with the DTAA and the State TAA Coordinator or Dislocated Worker Unit relevant to the worker group's plant location.

Who is 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 certification will cover all workers in the group, whether or not their names are on the petition.

After receiving a TAA petition, DTAA investigators analyze facts contributing to the workers' layoffs or work reductions in order to determine if the following eligibility requirements are met:

• Workers' company produces a product.
• 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 fewer than 50, or 5% of the workforce in groups of 50 or more).
• One of the following:
• Increased imports contributed importantly to an actual decline in sales or production, and to a layoff or threat of a layoff; or
• There has been a shift in production to certain countries outside the United States; or
• There has been a shift in production outside the United States and there has been or is likely to be an increase in the import of like or similar articles; or
• 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 .

ATAA

In investigations on behalf of worker groups who meet the above TAA criteria, DTAA will also assess whether the following criteria have been met:

• A required minimum of the petitioning workers are age 50 or older (3 workers in groups of fewer than 50, or 5% of the workforce in groups of 50 or more).
• Skills of workers age 50 or older in the workgroup possess skills that are not easily transferable.
• Conditions within the industry are adverse.

Generally, 40 days after receiving a TAA/ATAA petition, the DTAA will make a final determination on whether or not the eligibility requirements have been met.

Certified Petitions - If the eligibility requirements have been met, the DTAA will issue the worker group one of the following decisions:

• Certification Regarding Eligibility to Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance and Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance
• Certification to Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance and Negative Determination Regarding Eligibility to Apply for Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance

Note that "Worker Adjustment Assistance" includes individual services and benefits available to eligible workers under the TAA program.

Who is 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.

Denied Petitions - If the eligibility requirements are not met, the DTAA will issue the worker group a "Negative Determination Regarding Eligibility to Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance" and, if applicable "A Negative Determination Regarding Eligibility to Apply for Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance." Note that workers may be certified for TAA and denied for ATAA, but may not be denied TAA and certified for ATAA, as TAA certification is essential for ATAA eligibility. A negative determination denies workers certification of eligibility to apply for TAA and/or ATAA services and benefits.

Workers who are denied certification for TAA or ATAA may: (1) request administrative reconsideration of their petition; (2) appeal the denial; and/or (3) apply for reemployment services from other programs such as those available through the Workforce Investment Act's Dislocated Worker program (http://www.doleta.gov/layoff), also available through local One-Stop Career Centers.

Notification of Certification or Denial - The DTAA will notify petitioners 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 ATAA, workers must also meet individual criteria. Certified workers apply for individual services and benefits through their local One-Stop Career Centers.

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 Case Management Supervisor, U.S. Court of International Trade, One Federal Plaza, New York, New York 10007, (212) 264-2031. Appeals must be mailed within 60 days of Federal Register publication of the initial denial or administrative reconsideration denial.